I 


■    i 


-"V 
/ 


FRANCIS  &  CO.'S 

t  H  W  SP  It  B    It  I!  IB  IE  A  IB  Ys 

FOR  YOUNG  PERSONS  OF  VARIOUS  AGES.1 


THE     UGLY    DUCK: 

AND     OTHER     TALES. 

BY  HANS  CHRISTIAN  ANDERSEN. 


jftunciB  to  ©o.'s  SLCttle  JLtfcrarg. 

S.  S.  Francis  &  Co.,  New  York,  have  published  a  uniform  Scriei 
of  Choice  volumes  for  Young  People,  by  some  of  the  most   distin- 
guished writers  for  Children.    Neatly  bound  in  cloth,  and  illus- 
trated by  F.ii<rraiuii<rs. 
L.   MARIA  CHILD.— Flowers  for  Children:  No.  1,  for  Chil- 
dren eight  or  nine  years  old. 

Flowers  for  Childre'n:  No.  2,  for  Children  three  or  foui 

years  old. 

Flowers    for  Children  :  No.  3,  for  Children  eleven  or 

twelve  years  old. 
MARY   HOWITT.— Fireside  Tales. 

The  Christmas  Tree:  A  Book  of  Stories. 

The  Turtle  Dove  of  Carmel;  and  other  Stories. 

The  Favorite  Scholar;  Little  Chatterbox;  Perse- 

verance, and  other  Tales.    By  Mary  Howitt,  Mrs.  S. 

C.  Hall,  and  others. 
MRS.  TRIMMER. — The  Robbins  ;  or  Domestic  Life  among 

the  Birds.     Designed  for  the  Instruction  of  Children 

respecting  their  Treatment  of  Animals. 
MISS    LES  LIE.— Russel    and   Sidney    and   Chase    Lorino  : 

Tales  of  the  American  Revolution. 
MRS.    CAROLINE    GILMAN.— The    Little    Wreath    of 

Stories  and  Poems  for  Children. 

Stories  and  Poems  for  Children. 

HANS  CHRISTIAN  ANDEftSEN.—  A  Christmas  Greet 
ing  :  Thirteen  New  Stories  from  the  Danish  of  Hans 
Christian  Andersen. 

A  Picture  Book  without  Pictures;  and  jmer  Stories: 

by    Hans    Christian    Andersen.    Translated  by  Mary 
Howitt,  with  a  Memoir  of  the  Author. 

A  Danish  Story  Book. 

CLAUDINE  ;  or  Humility  the  Basis  of  all  the  Virtues. 
A  Swiss  Tale.  By  a  Mother;  author  of  "Always  Hap- 
py," "  True  Stories  from  History,"  &c. 

FACTS  TO  CORRECT  FANCIES;  or  Shrrt  Narratives 
compiled  from  the  Memoirs  of  Remarkable  Women. 
Bv  a  Mother.  , 

HOLIDAY  STORIES.     Containing  five  Moral  Tales. 

MRS  HOFLAND.— The  History  of  an  Officer's  Widow 
and  her  Young  Family. 

The  Clergyman's  Widow,  and  her  Young  Family. 

■ The  Merchant's  Widow,  and  her  Young  Family. 

MISS  ABBOT. — Kate  and  Lizzie;  or  Six  Months  out  of 
School. 

MISS  ELIZA  ROBBIN*.— Classic  Tales.  Designed  for  the 
Instruction  and  Amusement  of  Young  Persons.  By  the 
author  of  "  American  Popular  Lessons,"  &c. 

MRS.  S.  C.  HALL. — Turm  of  Fortune;  All  is  not  Golb 
that  Glitters,  kc 

-  -      Tub  Private  Purse;  Cleverness,  and  other  Tates. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/uglyduckothertalOOande 


"HE     NIGHTINGALE 


Page  111 


€tyt   ftglg   Dark, 


&ntr  ©t Jer  STaUs* 


BY 


HANS   CHRISTIAN  ANDERSEN 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NEW    YORK: 
0.   S.   FRANCIS    &  CO.,  252    BROADWAY. 

boston: 

J.  H.   FRANCIS,   128    WASHINGTON   STREET. 

18  54. 


<Cnnt*ntH 


The  Ugly  Duck               ..-.-----  7 

Top  and  Ball                ....----  31 

The  Little  Mermaid  .------37 

The  Storks    ----------  92 

The  Nightingale      .        -       -              -----  104 

The  Rose  Elf       -..--->---  127 

Holger  Danske        .------•-  139 

The  Emperor  Frederic  Barbarossa       -       -       -       -  150 

The  Dying  Child         ----.---  158 


696742 


ityt  Ifiig  lurk 


ERY  beautiful  was  the 
weather  in  the  country;,  for 
it  was  summer-time;  the 
corn  was  yellow,  the  oats 
green,  the  hay  lay  heaped 
up  in  cocks  on  the  green 
meadows,  and  the  stork  paraded  about  on 


«jp  ftgjq  Btrrk. 

his  long  red  legs,  and  talked  Egyptian,  for 
that  wa'S  the  language  he  had  learnt  from 
his  mother. 

.  All  round  the  fields  and  meadowy  were 
great  woods,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  woods 
were  deep  lakes — yes,  it  was  really  most 
beautiful  in  the  country ! 

And  there  stood  an  old  manor-house  right 
in  the  sunshine,  with  deep  moats  all  round 
it,  and  on  the  walls  great  burdock-leaves 
were  growing,  that  hung  down  into  the 
water;  they  were  so  high  that  little  children 
could  stand  under  the  largest  oitthem.  The 
place  was  as  wild  and  unfrequented  as  the 
thickest  part  of  the  forest. 

And  here  sat  a  duck  on  her  nest; — she 
was  to  hatch  her  eggs  and  get  a  brood  of 
ducklings ;  but  it  lasted  so  long,  she  was  al- 
most tired  of  it,  important  as  it  was ;  and 
she  had,  besides,  few  visitors.  The  other 
ducks  preferred  swimming  about  in  the 
moats  and  ponds  in  the  garden,  to  sitting 
writh  her  on  the  green  bank  and  chatting 
under  the  dock-leaves. 

At  .last  one  egg  cracked,  and  then  ano- 


€\t  Sight  ftai 

ther  :  "  Piep  !  piep  !"  they  cried;  all  the  eggs 
had  grown  alive,  and  one  head  popped  out 
after  the  other.  "  Quack,  quack,"  said  she; 
and  then  the  ducklings  all  broke  open  their 
shells,  thrust  out  their  heads  as  well  as  they 
were  able,  and  peeped  about  under  the  green 
leaves.  And  their  mother  let  them  look  as 
*much  as  they  liked ;  for  green  is  good  for 
the  eyes. 

"  How  immense  the  world  is  !"  said  the 
little  ones ;  for  the  room  they  had  now  to 
move  in  was,  to  be  sure,  quite  another  play- 
ground to  what  it  was  when  sitting  in  the 
egg-shell. 

'•Do  you  think  that  this  is  the  whole 
world  7'"'  said  their  mother.  "  It  extends  far 
towards  the  other  side  of  the  garden,  straight 
to  the  pastor's  field :  but  there  I  have  never 
been.  You  surely  are  all  here  !"  And  now 
she  rose,  though  in  so  doing,  in  spite  of  all 
her  care,  her  little  scrambling  progeny  were 
regularly  upset.  "  No,  I  have  not  all !  The 
largest  egg  is  lying  there  still.  How  long 
is  this  to  last !     I  am  really  growing  quite 

9 


/ 

$jr*  &gh[  Itok. 

tired  of  it."     And  then  she  sat  on  the  nest 
again. 

"Well,  how  are  you  getting  on?"  asked 
an  old  duck  that  came  up  to  pay  her  friend 
a  visit. 

"It  lasts  so  long  with  one  egg,"  said  the 
other;  "  it  will  never  open.  The  shell  must 
be  too  hard  for  the  poor  little  thing  to  make 
a  hole  through  it.  But  now  you  shall  see  the 
others.  They  are  the  nicest  little  ducklings 
that  I  have  seen  in  all  my  life !  They  are 
all  so  like  their  father — the  good-for-nothing 
fellow! — he  has  never  been  once  to  see 
me !" 

"  Let  me  look  at  the  egg  that  will  not 
open ,"  said  the  old  duck.  ' '  You  may  be  sure 
it  is  a  turkey's  egg !  I  was  deceived  once 
in  the  same  way  myself:  and  I  had  plague 
and  trouble  enough  with  the  young  ones ;  for 
they  are  shy  of  water,  let  me  tell  you ;  -I  could 
not  get  them  to  go  in.  I  called  and  scolded; 
.but  it  was  all  of  no  use.  Let  me  see  the 
egg.  Ah,  truly! — that's  a  turkey's  egg! 
Let  it  lie ;  and  teach  the  other  little  ones  to 


"I  will  sit  on  it  a  little  longer,"  said  the 
Duck;  "I  have  been  sitting  so  long,  that  I 
may  as  well  devote  the  rest  of  the  harvest- 
time  to  it."  • 

"  You  may  do  what  you  like,  for  me," 
said  the  old  duck,  as  she  waddled  away. 
"  The  changeling  will  give  her  enough  to 
do,"  thought  she,  as  she  went. 

At  last  the  great  egg  burst.  "  Piep,  piep," 
said  the  little  one,  and  tumbled  out  of  the 
shell ;  but  how  large  and  ugly  it  was  !  The 
Duck  looked  at  it:  "That's  a  tremendous 
great  creature,  however,"  said  she;  "none 
of  the  others  look  like  it.  That  can't  be  a 
turkey-chick,  surely  !  Well,  we'll  soon  find 
out.  It  shall  go  into  the  water,  even  if  I 
am  obliged  to  shove  it  in,  we  will  see  whe- 
ther it  is  a  real  duck  and  can  dive  and  swim 
properly." 

The  following  day  it  was  wonderfully 
fine  weather,  the  sun  shone  so  cheeringly  on 
all  the  green  leaves.  So  Mamma  Duck 
went  down  to  the  moat  with  all  her  family 
at  her  heels,  and,  platsch !  in  she  went  into 
the  water.     "Quack!    quack!"    said  she; 

n 


€jre  |glt[  Itork. 

and  plump  into  the  water  went  one  chick- 
ling after  the  other.  Not  one  ivanted  to 
stay  behind.  The  water  went  over  their 
heads  ;  but  they  came  up  again  directly,  and 
swam  in  the  prettiest  way  imaginable  :  their 
feet  moved  of  themselves  in  the  water,  and 
all  were  there ;  even  the  hideous  grey  one 
swam  too. 

"  No,  that's  no  turkey !"  said  the  old 
Duck;  "only  look  how  prettily  it  uses  its 
legs ;  how  upright  it  holds  itself! — that  child 
is  my  own !  In  reality  it's  quite  pretty,  if 
one  looks  at  it  well. — Quack  !  quack  !  now 
come  with  me,  I  will  take  you  into  the 
world,  and  introduce  you  into  the  poultry- 
yard.  But  keep  close  to  me,  that  no  one 
may  tread  upon  you ;  and  take  care  of  the 
cats." 

And  so  they  came  into  the  poultry-yard. 
There  was  a  terrible  hurley-burley  going  on 
there  just  then  ;  for  two  families  were  quar- 
reling about  the  remains  of  an  eel,  which 
nobody  but  the  cat  got,  after  all. 

"  Behold,  my  children,  such  is  the  way 
of  the   world,"    said   Mamma   Duck,    and 
12 


«{p  Eglt!  fttrk. 

licked  her  bill ;  for  she  had  a  taste  for  fried 
eels  too.  "Now  use  your  legs."  said  she; 
"pay  attention,  keep  together,  and  bow  to 
the  old  duck  there  yonder, — she  is  of  higher 
rank  than  all  the  rest.  She  is  of  Spanish 
race ;  which  accounts  for  her  dignified  ap- 
pearance and  noble  manners — and,  look  ! 
she  has  a  red  rag  round  her  leg ;  that  is 
something  wonderfully  beautiful,  and  the 
greatest  distinction  that  a  duck  can  have  : 
it  signifies  that  she  is  not  to  be  given  away, 
and  that  she  may  be  known  by  men  and 
animals.  Turn  out  your  toes  !  a  well-bred 
duckling  straddles  his  legs  far  apart,  like 
his  parents  !  Look — so !  Now  give  your 
neck  a  graceful  curve,  as  I  do,  and  say 
'Quack!'" 

And  they  did  as  they  were  told ;  but  the 
other  ducks  all  round  stared  at  them,  and 
said  quite  aloud,  "  Now  look,  we  are  to 
have  this  tribe  too,  as  if  there  were  nof 
enough  of  us  already !  we  really  could  do 
very  well  without  such  a  set  as  this ;  and 
only  look,  how  ugly  one  is  ! — we  wont  suffer 
that  one  here."     And  immediately  a  saucy 

p  13 


€\t  gLgfy  Suit 


drake  flew  at  the  little  grey-green  intruder, 
and  bit  him  in  the  neck. 

"  Let  it  alone,"  said  the  mother;  "it  does 
no  one  any  harm,  and  I  will  not  have  him 
ill-treated." 

"  Yes,  but  it  is  so  large  and  strange-look- 
ing," replied  the  drake,  "and  therefore  it 
shall  be  teased." 

"  Those  are  fine  children  that  the  mother 
has,"  said  the  old  duck  with  the  rag  round 
her  leg.  "  All  handsome,  except  one :  it  has 
not  turned  out  well.  It  is  anything  but  per- 
fect. I  wish  she  could  change  it  or  hatch  it 
over." 

"That  can't  be  done,  your  grace,"  said 
the  mother;  "besides,  if  it  be  not  exactly 
pretty,  it  is  a  sweet  child,  and  swims  as 
well  as  one  of  the  others ;  yes,  even  a  little 
better.  I  think,  in  growing  it  will  improve, 
or  perhaps  in  time  get  less  plump :  it  was 
long  in  the  egg,  and  that's  the  reason  it  is  a 
little  awkward."  And  saying  these  words, 
she  scratched  the  duckling  in  the  nape  of  the 
neck,  and  smoothed  down  his  thin  green 
uniform  where  it  was  ruffled,  and  with  her 

14 


€)p  Sgltf  Sort 


bill  stroked  the  whole  Jittle  personage  into 
order  wherever  she  con  Id.  d  Besides  it's  a 
drake,"  added  she;  "and  therefore  it  does 
not  matter  so  much.  I  think  it  will  be 
strong,  though,  and  fight  its  way  through 
the  world." 

'-;  The  others  are  nice  little  things!"  said 
the  old  Spanish  lady-duck.  "Now  make 
yourself  quite  at  home  here;  and  should 
you  find  an  eel's  head,  or  anything  very 
nice  of  that  sort,  why,  you  can  just  bring  it 
to  me." 

And  then  they  felt  quite  at  home. 

But  the  poor  young  duck,  that  had  come 
last  out  of  the  shell  and  looked  so  ugly,  was 
bitten,  and  pecked,  and  teased,  by  ducks 
and  fowls.  "It's  so  large  !"  said  they  all; 
and  the  turkey-cock,  that  had  spurs  ©n 
when  he  came  into  the  world,  and  therefore 
fancied  himself  an  emperor,  strutted  about 
like  a  ship  under  full  sail,  Went  straight  up 
to  it,  gobbled,  and  got  quite  red.  The  poor 
little  duck  hardly  knew  where  to  go,  or 
where  to  stand :  it  was  so  sorrowful,  because 
it  was  so  ugly  and  was  the  ridicule  of  the 

15 


whole  poultry-yard,  and  this  weighed  heavy 
on  his  heart. 

Thus  passed  the  first  day,  and  afterwards 
it  grew  worse  and  worse.  The  poor  duck  was 
hunted  about  by  every  one ;  even  its  brothers 
and  sisters  were  cross  to  it,  and  always  said, 
"  I  wish  the  cat  would  get  you,  you  fright- 
ful creature  !"  and  its  mother  in  her.  sorrow 
for  her  suffering, little  one,  said,  "Would 
you  were  far  from  here !"  And  the  ducks 
bit  it,  and  the  hens  pecked  at  it,  and  the 
girl  that  fed  the  poultry  kicked  it  with  her 

foot. 

So  at  last  it  made  a  desperate  effort,  and 
ran  and  flew  over  the  hedge  and  out  of  the 
poultry-yard. 

The  little  birds  in  the  bushes  started  with 
affright.  "  That  is  because  I  am  so  ugly," 
thought  the  duck,  and  shut  its  eyes ;  but 
still  ran  on.  At  last  it  came  to  a  great 
moor  where  wild  ducks  lived :  here  it  lay 
the  whole  night,  and  was  so  tired  and  com- 
fortless; while  the  full  moon  shone  forth 
with  such  a  smiling  face  that  one  might 
have  thought    she  was  laughing   at    the 

16 


«{[*  <&glt[  Itnt 

merry-hearted  frogs  as  they  leaped  from  the 
turf  into  the  water  and  from  the  Tetter,  on 
to  the  turf  again,  dancing  about  like  so 
many  elves. 

In  the  morning  up  flew  the  wild  ducks, 
and  saw  their  new  comrade:  "What  a 
comical  little  fellow !  Who  are  you  1"  asked 
they ;  and  our  little  duck  turned  itself  on 
every  side,  and  bowed  to  them  all  as  well 
as  it  could. 

"  But  you  are  tremendously  ugly  !"  said 
the  wild  ducks.  "  However,  that  is  of  no 
consequence  to  us,  if  you  don't  marry  into 
our  family."  The  poor  thing  !  It  certainly 
never  thought  of  marrying ;  it  only  wanted 
permission  to  lie  among  the  reeds,  and  to 
drink  the  waters  of  the  marsh. 

So  it  lay  there  two  whole  days ;  on  the 
third  came  a  couple  of  wild  geese,  or  rather 
ganders :  it  was  not  long  since  they  had 
crept  out  of  the  egg,  and  that  was  the  rea- 
son they  were  so  pert. 

"Hark  ye,  comrade,"  said  they;  "you 
are  so  ugly  that  we  like  you  right  well. 
Will  you  come  with  us.  and  be  a  bird  of 

2  17 


«jH  $glt[  Smt 

passage?  Not  far  from  here,  on  another 
moor,  lire  some  dear,  sweet  wild  geese,  as 
beautiful  young  ladies  as  ever  said  '  Gick- 
gack.'  You  might  really  do  great  things 
among  them  and  make  your  fortune,  you 
are  so  ugly !" 

"Bang!  bang!"  was  heard  at  the  same 
moment,  and  both  wild  geese  lay  dead 
among  the  reeds,  and  the  water  was  as  red 
as  blood :  "  bang !  bang !"  was  heard  again, 
and  whole  flocks  of  wild  geese  flew  out  of 
the  rushes ;  and  then  the  report  was  heard 
again. 

There  was  a  great  shooting-excursion : 
the  sportsmen  lay  all  around  the  moor ;  in- 
deed, some  sat  in  the  branches  of  the  trees 
which  spread  over  the  heath  ;  and  the  blue 
smoke  floated  like  a  cloud  through  the  dark 
trees,  and  sank  down  to  the  very  water; 
and  the  dogs  spattered  about  in  the  marshy 
—splash,  splash !  reeds  and  rushes  were 
waving  on  all  sides :  it  was  a  terrible  fright 
for  the  poor  duck !  It  turned  its  head  to 
put  it  under  its  wing,  when  at  the  same 
moment  a  terribly  large  dog  stood  close  be- 

18  S 


${p  Egh[  Dark. 

side  it ;  his  tongue  hanging  far  out  of  his 
mouth,  and  his  eyes  sparkling  horribly. 
He  opened  his  jaws  just  opposite  our  duck, 
showed  his  sharp  teeth,  and — splash  ! — 
away  he  went  without  touching  it. 

"Well,  Heaven  be  praised!"  sighed  the 
duck  •  "  I  am  so  ugly  that  even  a  dog  won't 
eat  me !" 

And  now  it  lay  quite  still,  while  the 
iron  hail  rattled  among  the  rushes,  and  shot 
after  shot  was.  heard. 

At  last  all  was  quiet;  but  the  poor  little 
thing  did  not  yet  dare  to  lift  its  head :  it 
waited  many  hours  before  it  looked  round, 
and  then  hastened  away  from  the  moor  as 
quickly  as  possible.  It  ran  over  the  fields 
and  meadows,  and  there  was  such  a  violent 
storm  of  wind  that  it  could  hardly  get 
along. 

Towards  evening  the  duck  reached  a  lit- 
tle hut ;  it  was  so  wretched  a  place  that  it 
could  not  determine  on  which  side  it  should 
fall  down,  and  therefore  it  remained  stand- 
ing. The  poor  bird  crept  as  well  as  it  could 
into  the  straw  that  covered  the  side  of  the 

* 


€tyt  $glt[  Burt 

hovel.  The  wind  blustered  so,  and  shook 
it  so  roughly,  that  it  was  obliged  to  sit  on 
its  tail  to  be  able  to  oppose  it,  and  it  grew 
worse  and  worse.  Just  then  it  observed 
that  the  door  had  fallen  off  its  hinges,  and 
hung  so  much  on  one  side  that  it  could 
squeeze  itself  into  the  room ;  to  be  sure  the 
hovel  seemed  to  promise  small  store  of  com- 
fort, but  still  it  would  be  good  shelter,  after 
all,  from  the  blustering  weather  ;  so  in  went 
the  poor  little  duck. 

Here  dwelt  an  old  woman  with  her  tom- 
cat and  her  hen ;  and  the  cat,  which  she 
called  her  Mannikin,  could  put  up  his  back 
and  purr ;  yes,  he  could  even  make  a  crack- 
ing noise,  but  then  you  must  stroke  his  fur 
the  reverse  way.  The  woman  coaxingly 
called  him  her  little  son. 

The  hen  had  quite  little  short  legs  and 
therefore  it  was  called  Chickabiddy  Short- 
shanks  ;  she  regularly  laid  good  eggs,  and 
the  woman  loved  it  as  her  own  child.  Peace 
and  happiness  were  quite  at  home  beneath 
the  little  tottering  roof  of  straw,  as  they 
often  are  beneath  many  of  the  kind. 
20 


€\p  Eglq  Stack. 


In  the  morning  they  remarked  directly 
the  new  guest;  and  the  tom-cat  began  to 
mew,  and  the  hen  to  cackle. 

"  What's  the  matter?"  asked  the  old  wo- 
man ;  but  she  did  not  see  well,  and  so-  she 
thought  the  young  duckling  was  a  fat  duck 
that  had  lost  its  way. 

"  That's  something  worth  catching !"  said 
she.  "  Now  I  can  get  duck's  eggs,  if  only 
it  be  no  drake.     We  must  try." 

And  so  the  duck  was  taken  on  trial  for 
three  weeks  ;  but  no  eggs  appeared. 

Now  the  tom-cat  was  master  in  the  house, 
and  the  hen  was  mistress :  and  they  always 
said,  "  We  and  the  world  ;"  for  they  thought 
that  they  were  the' half  of  the  world,  and  by 
far  the  better  half  into  the  bargain.  The 
duck  thought  there  might  be  two  opinions 
on  that  matter ;  but  the  hen  would  not  allow 
this. 

"  Can  you  lay  eggs?"  asked  she. 

"No." 

"Well,  then,  hold  your, tongue." 

And  the  tom-cat  said,  "  Can  you  put  up 


21 


^jjt  ajhj  srck. 

your  oack,  and  purr,  and  make  a  cracking 


noise?" 


"  "No." 

"  Well,  then,  you  ought  to  have  no  opin- 
ion of  your  own,  where  sensible  people  are 

speaking."  . 

And  the  duck  sat  sorrowfully  in  the  cor- 
ner, and  was  in  a  bad  humor,  with  his  two 
conceited  companions,  when  suddenly  it 
took  it  into  its  head  to  think  about  the  fresh 
air  and  the  sunshine;  and  it  had.  such  an 
inordinate  longing  to  swim  on  the  water, 
and  to  splash  about  in  the  yielding  element, 
that  it  could  not  help-,  at  last,  telling  the  hen 

"  What  next,  I  wonder  !"  said  the  hen  ; 
"you  have  nothing  to  do,  and  so  you  sit 
brooding  over  such  fancies  !  Lay  eggs,  or 
purr,  and  you'll  forget  them." 

«  But  it  is  so  delightful  to  swim  on  the 
water  !"  said  the  duck ;  "  so  delightful  when 
it  dashes  over  one's  head,  and  one  dives 
down  to  the  very  bottom  !" 

"Well,  that  must  be  a  fine  pleasure! 
said  the  hen.     "You  are  crazy,  I   think. 

22 


€§t  SLglq  Butt 

Ask  the  cat,  who  is  the  cleverest  fellow  I 
know,  if  he  would  like  to  swim  on  the  wa- 
ter, or  perhaps  to  dive ;  to  say  nothing  of 
myself.  Ask  our  mistress,  the  old  lady,  and 
there  is  no  one  in  the  world  cleverer  than 
she  is  ;  do  you  think  that  she  would' much 
like  to  swim  on  the  water,  and  for  the 
water  to  dash  over  her  head  V         + 

"You  don't  understand  me,"   said   the 
duck. 

"  Understand  indeed !  If  we  don't  un- 
derstand you,  who  should  do  so  ?  I  suppose 
you  won't  pretend  to  be  cleverer  than  the 
tom-cat  or  our  mistress,  to  say  nothing  of 
myself?  Don't  behave  in  that  way,  child  ; 
but  be  thankful  for  all  the  kindness  that  has 
been  shown  you.  Have  you  not  got  into  a 
warm  room,  and  have  you  not  the  society 
of  persons  from  whom  something  is  to  be 
learned  1  But  you  are  a  blockhead,  and  it 
is  tiresome  to  have  anything  to  do  with  you. 
You  may  believe  what  T  say,  I  am  well 
disposed  towards  you ;  I  tell  you  what  is 
disagreeable,  and  it  is  by  that  one  recognizes 
one's   true  friends.     Now,  then,  just  take 

23 


«ju  <3lglq  Bttrt 

the  trouble  to  learn  to  purr  or  t3  make  a 
cracking  noise,  or  to  lay  eggs." 

"I  think  I  will  go  out  into  the  wide 
world  again,"  said  the  duckling. 

"Well,  then,  go!"  answered  the  hen. 

And  so  the  duck  went,  and  began  its 
wanderings  anew.  It  left  the  hut  without 
any  reluctance,  and  hastened  to  the  water 
that  it  had  been  pining  for  so  Ion  g.  It  swam 
on  the  water,  it  dived  down  ;  but  was  disre- 
garded by  every  animal  on '  account  of  its 
ugliness. 

The  autumn  now  came  on  ;  the  leaves  in 
the  green'  woods  grew  yellow  and  brown, 
the  wind  laid  hold  of  them  and  danced 
them  about ;  and  it  was  cold  up  in  the  air. 
—the  clouds,  Waded  with  hail  and  snow, 
hung  down  heavily,  and  the  crows  sat  on 
the  fence  and  cried,  "Caw,  caw,"  from 
sheer  cold ;  yes,  it  was  enough  to  make  one 
freeze  to  think  of  it ;— and  the  poor  duckling 
was  certainly  badly  off. 

One  evening— the  sun  was  setting  most 
magnificently— there  came  a  whole  flock 
of  large  beautiful  birds  out  of  the  bushes ; 


I 


€jpe  §lglq  In 

never  had  the  duck  seen  aip 
tiful !  They  were  of  a  brilliant  white, 
long  slender  necks:  they  were  swans. 
They  uttered  a  strange  note,  spread  their 
superb  long  wings,  and  flew  away  from  the 
cold  countries  to  warmer  lands,  across  the 
sea,  to  unfrozen  lakes.  They  mounted  so 
high,  so  very  high !  the  little  ugly  duck  felt 
indescribably — it  turned  round  and  round 
in  the  water  like  a  mill-wheel,  stretched  out 
its  neck  towards  them,  and  uttered  a  cry  so 
loud  and  strange  that  it  almost  frightened 
itself.  Oh,  the  beautiful  birds !  the  happy 
birds  !  it  could  not  forget  them ;  and  when  it 
could  see  them  no  longer,  it  dived  down  to 
the  very  bottom  of  the  water :  and  when  it 
came  up  again,  it  was  quite  beside  itself. 
The  duckling  did  not  know  what  the 
birds  were  called,  nor  whither  they  flew ; 
yet  it  loved  them  as  it  had  never  yet  loved 
any  thing.  It  did  not  envy  them  ;  it  could 
not  ever  think  of  wishing  such  beauty  for 
itself:  why,  it  would  have  been  quite  con- 
tented if  it  had  been  but  tolerated  in  the 
poultry-yard,  the  poor  ugly  animal ! 


|1r  Hghf  itofc 


And  the  winter  was  so  cold !  the  duck 
was  obliged  to  swim  about  on  the  water  to 
keep  it  from  freezing ;  but  every  night  the 
opening  in  which  it  swam  grew  smaller  and 
smaller.  The  coating  of  ice  cracked  with 
the  frost;  the  duck  was  obliged  to  use  its 
legs  lustily  to  hinder  the  water  from  freezing 
entirely ;  but  at  last  it  was  exhausted,  it  lay 
still  faint  and  weary,  and  was  frozen  fast  in 
the  ice. 

Early  in  the  morning  a  peasant  came  by, 
who  saw  the  duck,  took  pity  on  it,  broke 
the  ice  in  pieces  with  his  wooden  shoe,  and 
carried  it  home  to  his  wife. 

Here  it  revived.  The  children  wanted  to 
play  with  it ;  but  our  duckling  thought  they 
wished  to  torment  it,  and  in  its  fright, 
bounced  right  into  the  milk-pan, — so  that 
the  milk  splashed  about  the  room.  The 
good  woman  screamed  and  wrung  her 
hands :  and  then  it  flew  into  the  tub  where 
the  butter  was,  and  then  into  the  meal-tub, 
and  out  again — but  what  a  fright  it  looked 
now ! 

The  woman  shrieked,  arid  tried  to  strike 

26 


it  with  the  tongs  ;  and  the  children  hunted 
it  about,  one  over  the  other,  in  order  to  catch 
it  and  laughed  and  shouted.  It  was  fine 
fun  for  them;  but  not  so  to  the  poor  little 
bird,  who  now,  instead  of  being  grey,  was 
as  white  as  flour  could  make  him.  It  was 
a  good  thing  that  the  door  was  open,  and 
out  the  duck  rushed  among  the  bushes  in 
the  freshly  fallen  snow:— there  it  lay  as  in 

a  dream. 
•But  it  would  be  too  sad  to  relate  all  the 
suffering  and  misery  which  it  had  to  endure 
through   the  hard  winter.     It   lay   on    the 
moor  under  the  rushes.     But  when  the  sun 
began  -to  shine  again  more  warmly,  when 
the  larks  sang,  and  the  lovely  spring  was 
come,   then,   all  at  once,  it  spread  out  its 
wings  and  rose  in  the  air.     They  made  a 
rushing   noise,  louder   than   formerly    and 
bore  it  onwards  more  vigorously ;  and,  be- 
fore it  was  well  aware  of  it,  it  found  itself 
in  a  garden,  where  the  apple-trees  were  m 
blossom,  and  where  the  syringas  sent  forth 
their  fragrance,  and  their  long  green  branch- 
es hung  down  in  the  meandering  rivulets. 


f jre  5ight  Burt 

It  was  so  beautiful ;  the  freshness  of  spring 
was  there  :  and  just  then  three  beautiful 
white  swans  came  out  of  the  thicket.  They 
rustled  their  feathers,  and  swam  on  the  wa- 
ter so  lightly,  oh,  so  very  lightly!  The 
duckling  knew  the  superb  creatures,  and 
was  seized  with  a  strange  feeling  of  sadness. 

"  To  them  will  I  fly,"  said  it,  "  to  the 
royal  birds ;  they  will  kill  me,  because  I,  poor 
ugly  creature,  dare  to  approach  them !  But 
no  matter  !  It  is  better  to  be  killed  by  them 
than  bitten  by  the  ducks,  pecked  by  the 
hens,  kicked  by  the  girl  that  feeds  the 
chickens,  and  in  Avinter  to  suffer  so  much." 
And  it  flew  into  the  water,  and  swam  to- 
wards the  magnificent  birds ;  they  looked  at 
him,  and,  with  rustling  plumes,  sailed  to- 
wards him. 

■l  Kill  me,"  said  the  poor  creature,  and 
bowed  down  its  head  to  the  water,  and 
awaited  death.  But  what  did  it  see  in  the 
water  !  It  saw  beneath  it  its  own  likeness — 
but  no  longer  that  of  an  awkward  grayish 
bird,  ugly  and  displeasing — it  was  the  figure 
of  a  swan ! 

28 


'%  igltt  Burt 

It  is  of  no  consequence  being  born  in  a 
farm-yard,  if  only  it  is  in  a  swan's  egg. 

The  good  creature  felt  quite  elevated  by 
all  the  cares  and  disappointments  it  had  en- 
dured ;  now  it  knew  how  to  prize  the  splen- 
dor which  began  to  shine  around  it.  And 
the  large  swans  swam  beside  it,  and  stroked 
it  with  their  bills. 

There  were  some  little  children  running 
about  in  the  garden  ;  they  threw  bread  into 
the  water,  and  the  youngest  cried  out : 

u  There  is  a  new  one !"  and  the  other 
children  shouted  too,  "Yes,  a  new  one  is 
come  !" — and  they  clapped  their  hands  and 
danced,  and  ran  to  tell  their  father  and  mo- 
ther. And  they  threw  bread  and  cake  into 
the  water,  and  every  one  said : 

u  The  new  one  is  the  best !  so  young,  and 
so  beautiful !"  And  the  old  swans  bowed 
their  heads  before  it.  Then  the  young  one 
felt  quite  ashamed,  and  hid  its  head  under 
its  wing  :  it  knew  not  what  to  do  :  it  was 
too  happy,  but  yet  not  proud,  for  a  good 
heart  is  never  proud. 

It  remembered  how  it  had  been  persecuted 

o  29 


€1jb  Sgltj  Stark. 

and  derided,  and  now  it  heard  all  people 
say  that  it  was  the  most  beautiful  of  all 
beautiful  birds.  And  the  syringas  bent 
down  their  branches  to  it  in  the  water,  and 
the  sun  shone  so  lovely  and  so  warm. 
Then  it  shook  its  plumes,  the  slender  neck 
was  lifted  up,  and,  from  its  very  heart,  it 
cried  rejoicingly,  "  Never  dreamed  I  of  such 
happiness  as  this,  in  the.  days  when  I  was 

the  LITTLE  UGLY  DUCK  !" 


so 


$ifl  M  36 all 


OGETHER     in     the 

drawer,  Ntoong    other 

playthings,  \lay  a  Top 

and  a  Ball  ;\  and   the 

Top  said  to  tne  Ball, 

"  Let  kis  be  betrothed, 

^  as   we   are  lying  here 

in    the    same    drawer 

e  thrown  so  much   together."     But 

11,  that  was  made  of  morocco  leather, 

ought  a  great  deal  of  herself,  like  a 

young  lady,  would  not  hear  any 

f  the  sort. 

e  following  day  came  the  little  boy 
m  the  toys  belonged :  he  painted  the 

31 


€flji  itrir  -fell- 

Top  red  and  yellow,  and  drove  a  brass  nail 
with  a  nice  smooth  head  right  into  the  mid- 
dle of  it :  it  looked  quite  splendid  when  the 
Top  spun  round. 

"Only  look  at  me,"  said  he  to  the  Ball. 
"What  do  you  say  now?  Let  us  be  be- 
trothed, we  are  so  fitted  for  each  other :  you 
can  hop,  and  I  can  dance ;  happier  than  we 
two  shall  be,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  find 
any  body." 

"Do  you  think  so?"  said  the  fine  little 
Lady-Ball.  "  You  probably  don't  know 
that  my  father  and  mother  were  morocco 
slippers,  and  that  I  have  a  piece  of  Spanish 
cork  in  my  body." 

"Yes,  but  I  am  made  of  mahogany," 
said  the  Top;  "and  I  was  turned  by  the 
Mayor  with  his  own  hand.  He  has  a  turn- 
ing-lathe of  his  own,  and  he  was  very  much 
amused  while  turning  me." 

"  Can  I  depend  on  what  you  say?"  said 
the  Ball. 

"  May  I  never  be  whipped  again  if  I  am 
telling  a  story  !"  answered  the  Top. 

"  What  you  say  is  not  amiss,"  said  the 

32 


€np  unit  9kU, 

Ball;  "but  yet  I  cannot  say  yes;  for  I  am 
as  good  as  promised,  and  to  such  a  dear 
little  Swallow  :  as  often  as  I  fly  up  in  the 
air,  he  puts  his  head  out  of  his  nest  and  says, 
'  Will  you  V  In  my  heart  I  have  said 
Yes,  and  that  is  as  good  as  being  half  pro- 
mised. But  this  I  assure  you,  forget  you  is 
what  I  shall  never  do." 

"  That  will  do  me  much  good,"  said  the 
Top  ;  and  henceforth  they  did  not  speak  to 
each  other. 

The  following  day  the  ball  was  taken 
out,  and  the  Top  saw  how  it  flew  high  up 
in  the  air  like  a  bird  ;  at  last  one  could  not 
see  it  any  more  :  every  time  it  came  back 
again,  but  always  made  a  bound  when  it 
touched  the  earth,  and  that  was  occasioned 
either  by  love,  or  by  the  cork  which  it  had  in 
its  body.  The  ninth  time  it  stayed  away, 
and  did  not  come  again  :  the  boy  searched 
and  searched,  but  it  was  gone. 

"I  know  very  well  where  she  is,"  sighed 
the  Top ;  "  she  is  in  the  Swallow's  nest, 
celebrating  her  wedding." 

The  more  the  Top  thought  about  it,  the 

3  33 


%  ml  9kll. 


lovelier  seemed  the  Ball  to  him :  that  he 
could  not  have  her,  made  his  love  hut  the 
hotter;  that  another  should  be  preferred — it 
was  that  which  he  could  not  forget !  And 
the  Top  danced  and  hummed,  but  he  was 
always  thinking  of  the  dear  Ball,  that  seemed 
to  him  lovelier  and  lovelier  the  more  he 
thought  of  her.  Thus  passed  many  years ; 
and  so  then  it  was  an  old  love. 

The  Top  was  no  longer  young;  but  one 
day,  all  of  a  sudden,  he  was  entirely  gilded 
over ;  never  had  he  looked  so  beautiful,  he 
was  now  a  golden  Top,  and  spun  about, 
humming  all  the  time,  till  the  whole  place 
quite  rattled.  Yes,  that  was  a  sight !  But 
all  at.  once  he  jumped  too  high,  and — he 
was  gone  !  They  searched  and  searched, 
even  in  the  cellar :  he  was  no  where  to  be 
found. — 

Where  was  he  ? 

He  had  sprung  into  a  butt,  full  of  all  sorts 
of  rubbish,  cabbage-stalks,  dust  and  par- 
ings, and  of  what  fell  from  the  gutter  under 
the  roof. 

"A  nice  place  this  !     I  shall  soon  lose  all 

34 


my  fine  gilding  here !  and  what  beggarly 
company  have  I  fallen  among!"  And  say- 
ing this,  he  looked  askance  at  a  long  cab- 
bage-stalk that  lay  shockingly  near,  and  at 
a  strange-looking  round  thing,  almost  like 
an  apple  :  but  it  was  no  apple — it  was  an 
old  ball  that  had  lain  many  years  in  the 
gutter,  and  was  thoroughly  soaked  with 
water. 

"  Well !  thank  heaven  !  at  last  one  sees 
one's  equals, — some  one  with  whom  I  can 
exchange  a  word,"  said  the  Ball,  and  look- 
ed at  the  golden  Top.  "  In  reality  I  am  of 
morocco,  sewn  together  by  maiden's  hands, 
and  have  a  cork  in  my  body :  though  no 
one  would  imagine  it  from  my  present  ap- 
pearance. I  was  on  the  point  of  being  mar- 
ried to  a  Swallow ;  but  I  fell  into  the  gut- 
ter, and  have  lain  here  five  years,  and  am 
now  wet  through.  That's  a  long  time  for 
a  maiden  lady,  I  can  tell  you  !" 

But  the  Top  gave  no  reply.  He  thought 
*  of  his  old  love  ;  and  the  more  he  heard,  the 
more  certain  was  he  that  it  was  she. 

Just  at  this  moment  the  housemaid  came 


€np  mft  Sill. 


to  clear  out  the  butt.     "  Holloa  !  here  is  the 
gold  Top  !"  said  she. 

And  the  Top  was  brought  into  the  play- 
room again,  and  was  used  and  admired  as 
before.  But  one  heard  nothing  more  of  the 
Ball.  And  the  Top  never  spoke  of  his  for- 
mer love :  that  passes  by,  when  the  affianced 
one  has  lain  five  years  in  the  gutter  of  a 
roof;  yes,  one  does  not  recognize  her  when 
one  meets  her  again  in  a  dust-hole. 


36 


mt  tlttlt  MimM. 


AR,  far  away, 
out  in  the  open 
.,  the  water  is  as 
blue  as  the  most  beautiful 
corn-flowers,  and  as  clear 
as  the  purest  crystal;  but 
\J  is  very  deep — deeper  than 
the  longest  cable  can  reach. 
Many  a  church-steeple  would  have  to  be 
piled  one  on  the  other  before  you  could 
reach  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea  to  the  sur- 
face ;  and  here,  in  these  depths,  dwell  the 
Mer-people. 
Now  you  must  not  fancy  that  there  is  no- 

r  37 


thing  down  there  hut  white  sand ;  far  from 
it.  Trees  and  plants  of  wondrous  beauty- 
grow  there,  whose  stems  and  leaves  are  so 
pliable  that  they  move  to  and  fro  at  the 
slightest  motion  of  the  water,  as  though 
they  were  living  creatures.  Large  and  small 
sea-fishes  glide  through  the  branches,  as 
the  birds  fly  about  in  the  air  and  among  the 
trees  on  land  with  us. 

At  the  spot  where  the  sea  is  deepest  lies 
the  palace  of  the  Ocean-King.  The  walls 
of  the  palace  are  of  coral,  and  the  high 
pointed  windows  of  amber,  the  roof  is  of 
sea-shells  cunningly  joined  together,  that 
open  and  shut  with  the  swell  of  the  waves, 
which  has  a  charming  effect ;  for  in  every 
shell  shining  pearls  are  lying,  one  alone  of 
which  would  be  a  costly  jewel  for  the  crown 
of  an  earthly  monarch. 

The  Ocean-King  who  lived  in  this  palace," 
had  been  a  widower  many  years ;  but  his 
old  mother  managed  his  household  affairs 
for  him.  She  was  a  clever  woman,  but  she 
was  very  proud  of  her  lineage,  and  on  that 
account  she  wore  twelve  oysters  on  her  tail, 

38 


■\ 


while  other  Mermaids,  even  those  of  lisfinc- 
tiou,  could  only  lidve  isix.  In  everything 
besides  she  merited  unreserved  praise,  par- 
ticularly on  account  of  the  great  affection 
she  bore  her  grknd-daughters,  the  little 
Ocean-Princesses.  |  They  were  six  particu- 
larly beautiful  children  ;  the  youngest.  Prin- 
cess, however,  wass  the  loveliest  of  all  the 
sisters.  Her  conjjplexion  was  as  fine  and 
delicate  as  a  ros/-leaf.  her  eyes  as  blue  as 
the  deepest  sea  :/but,  like  all  Mermaids,  she 
had  no  feet ;  her  body  ending  m  a  tail  like 
that  of  a  fish. 

The  whole /day  long  the  children  were 
allowed  to  play  in  the  spacious  halls  of  the 
palace,  where  beautiful  flowers  grew  out  of 
the  walls  on  all  sides  around  them.  When 
the  large  ^  amber  windows  were  opened, 
great  fishes  swam  into  these  apartments ; 
just  as  the  swallows  fly  into  our  rooms, 
when  we  leave  the  doors  open.  But  the 
fishes  were  bolder  than  our  swallows  are ; 
they  swam  right  up  to  the  little  Princesses, 
ate  out  of  their  hands,  followed  them  about 


S9 


tyt  ICittlB  fflmuak. 

the  halls,  and  allowed  themselves  to  be  ca- 
ressed. 

In  front  of  the  palace  was  a  large  garden 
with  crimson  and  dark-blue  trees,  whose 
fruits  sparkled  with  gold;  but  the  flowers 
of  the  garden  were  like  a  burning  sun.  The 
mould  there  was  of  the  finest  sand,  but  of  a 
violet  color,  something  like  the  flame  of 
brimstone,  and  over  the  whole  was  spread 
a  wondrous  blue,  so  that  one  might  have 
fancied  oneself  high  up  in  the  air,  with  the 
heavens  above  and  below,  instead  of  being 
at  the  very  bottom  of  the  sea.  When  the 
water  was  tranquil,  one  could  see  the  sun, 
which  looked  then  like  a  purple  flower,  out 
of  whose  chalice  the  light  of  the  world  was 
streaming. 

Each  of  the  little  Princesses  had  her  own 
flower-bed  in  the  garden,  in  which  she  could 
plant  and  sow  as  she  liked.  One  laid  hers 
out  in  the  form  of  a  whale,  another  liked 
that  of  a  mermaid  better ;  but  the  youngest 
made  hers  quite  round,  like  the  sun,  and 
planted  in  it  only  flowers  that  were  red,  to 
resemble  it  in  color  too.  She  was  indeed  an 
40 


extraordinary  child,  very  quiet  and  thought- 
fal.  While  her  sisters  were  adorning  them- 
selves with  all  sorts  of  things  as  ornaments, 
which  they  had  got  from  a  ship  that  had 
been  wrecked,  she  asked  for  the  beautiful 
white  boy  only,  a  marble  figure  which  had 
been  found  in  the  vessel.  She  placed  the 
statue  in  her  garden,  and  planted  a  red 
weeping  willow  beside  it,  which  grew  right 
pleasantly  ;  and  its  long  branches  hung 
down  to  the  blue  ground,  on  which  the 
flitting  shadows  played  in  violet  tints,  as 
though  the  roots  and  the  tops  of  the  boughs 
played  with  and  kissed  each  other. 

Nothing  delighted  the  little  Princess  so 
much  as  to  hear  of  the  world  inhabited  by 
man,  that  was  up  above  the  waters.  Her 
old  grandmother  was  obliged  to  tell  all  that 
she  knew  about  ships  and  towns,  men  and 
land-animals  ;  and  she  was  particularly  de- 
lighted to  hear  that  the  flowers  on  the  earth 
had  a  sweet  odor,  which  is  not  the  case 
with  the  flowers  of  the  ocean ;  to  learn  that 
the  woods  there  were  green,  and  that  the 
fishes  that  fluttered  about  in  their  branches 

41 


€jjB  litilr  Birrmaitr. 


were  beautiful,  and  sing  aloud.  It  was  the 
birds  she  meant;  her  grandmother  called 
them  fishes,  because  her  grand-daughters, 
who  had  never  seen  a  bird,  would  otherwise 
not  have  understood  her. 

"  When  you  have  reached  your  fifteenth 
year,"  continued  the  old  lady,  "  3^ou  may 
rise  up  to  the  surface  of  the  sea,  sit  on  the 
rocks  in  the  moonlight,  and  see  the  large 
ships  sail  by,  and  become  acquainted  with 
men  and  cities." 

The  following  year  the  eldest  sister  at- 
tained this  happy  age;  but  as  to  her  sis- 
ters, unfortunately  one  was  always  a  year 
younger  than  the  other,  and  the  youngest 
therefore  had  to  wait  five  whole  years  be- 
fore the  glad  -moment  should  come  for  her 
to  rise  to  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  and  be- 
hold how  the  upper  world  did  look.  But 
each  promised  the  other  to  tell  what  she 
had  seen,  and  what  she  thought  most  beau- 
tiful, as  soon  as  the  first  day  of  her  coming 
of  age  should  arrive ;  for  really  their  grand- 
mother told  them. so  very  little,  and  there 
were  so  many  things  that  they  wanted  to 

42 


€k  Milt  fflmA 


Know  about ;  besides  what  she  did  tell  them, 
only  excited  their  curiosity  to  see  the  won- 
ders with  their  own  eyes. 

But  none  of  the  sisters  felt  so  lively  a 
longing  for  this  day  of  liberation  from  child- 
ish restraint  as  the  youngest ;  she  who  must 
wait  longest,  and  who  always  moved  about 
so  quietly  and  absorbed  in  thought.  Many 
a  night  did  she  stand  at  the  open  window, 
and  look  upwards  through  the  clear  blue 
water,  whilst  tt*e  fishes  were  splashing  and 
playing  around  her.  She  could  see  the  sun 
and  the  moon,  of  course  in  dimmed  bright- 
ness only  ;  but  to  her  the  orbs  seemed 
larger  than,  they  do  to  the  dwellers  upon 
earth.  If  a  shadow  concealed  them,  then 
she  knew  that  it  was  either  a  whale  or  a 
passing  ship  with  human  beings  upon  it, 
who  certainly  little  thought  that,  far  below 
them,  a  little  ocean-maiden  stretched  her 
white  hands  upwards  towards  the  keel  of 
their  ship,  with  an  ardent  longing  to  be  with 
them. 

The   day   had  now    arrived   when    the 
eldest  Princess  had  reached  her  fifteenth 

43 


«Jt  fffit  Mnmil 

* 

year,  and  was  therefore  allowed  to  rise  to 
the  surface  of  the  sea.      • 

At  her  return  she  had  a  thousand  things 
to  relate:  but  yet  her  greatest  enjoyment  had 
been  to  sit  on  a  sand-bank  in  the  moonlight, 
and  to  see  the  large  city  lying  on  the  coastf 
where  lights  like  stars  were  shining,  music- 
sounding,  and  where  the  noise  and  hum  of 
carriages  and  men  might  be  heard  afar. 
Then,  too,  to  behold  the  high  church-tow- 
ers, and  to  hear  the  chime  of  the  bells, — it 
was  for  these  very  things  she  felt  the  greatest 
longing,  just  because  they  were  beyond  her 
reach. 

How  attentively  did  her  youngest  sister 
listen  to  these  words  !  And  when  she  next 
stood  by  night  at  her  open  window,  and 
looked  upwards  through  the  blue  flood,  she 
thought  so  intensely  of  the  great  noisy  city, 
that  she  fancied  she  could  hear  the  sound 
of  the  church-bells. 

The  following  year  the  next  sister  was 
allowed  to  rise  to  the  surface,  and  swim 
whither  she  pleased.  She  rose  to  the  top  of 
the  water  just  as  the  sun  was  going  down ; 

44 


€\i  t\\\\i*Miim\\. 


and  this  sight  so  delighted  her,  that  she  said, 
of  all  she  had  seen*above  the  sea,  this  was 
the  most  magnificent. 

"  The  whole  heaven  was  like  gold,"  said 
she,  "  and  the  beauty  of  the  clouds  it  is  out 
of  my  power  to  describe :  now  red,  now 
violet,  on  they  sailed  above  me ;  but  still 
more  swiftly  than  they,  a  flock  of  white 
swans  flew  over  the  water  at  the  very  spot 
where  the  sun  was  descending.  I  looked 
after  them,  but  the  sun  disappeared,  and  the 
rosy  light  gradually  died  away  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  ocean,  and  on  the  edges  of  the 
clouds." 

It  was  now  the  third  sister's  turn  to  rise 
and  visit  the  upper  world.  She  was  the 
most  beautiful  and  the  boldest  of  the  three, 
and  therefore  she  swam  up  a  river  that  fell 
into  the  sea.  Here  she  saw  on  the  banks 
green  hills  with  grape-vines,  castles  and 
houses  that  rose  up  from  among  the  woods; 
she  heard  the  host  of  birds  singing ;  and 
the  sun  shone  so  warm,  that  she  was  often 
obliged  to  dive  beneath  the  water  to  cool 
her  burning  face.    In  a  small  bay  she  found 

45 


littlf  J&tmm. 


a  whole  company  of  little  children — the 
children  of  mortals  who  dwell  upon  the 
earth — who  were  bathing,  and  who  jumped 
about  naked  and  splashed  in  the  water. 
She  wished  to  join  in  their  sport;  but  the 
children  fled  frightened  to  the  land,  and  a 
little  black  animal  barked  so  dreadfully  at 
her,  that  at  last  she  grew  afraid,  and  swam 
back  again  to  the  sea.  But  she  could  not 
forget  the  sight  of  the  green  woods,  the  leafy 
hills,  and  of  the  nice  little  children  who 
swam  about  in  the  water  although  they  had 
no  fins. 

The  fourth  sister  was  not  so  bold;  she 
remained  in  the  open  sea,  and  when  she 
came  back  to  her  ocean-palace,  related  that 
there  it  was  more  beautiful  than  any  where 
else,  for  one  could  see  miles  around  one, 
while  the  sky,  like  a  large  bell,  hung  over 
the  waves.  She  had  seen  ships  too,  but 
only  so  far  off  that  they  seemed  to  be  sea- 
gulls ;  while  sprightly  dolphins  sported  on 
the  water,  and  whales  spouted  high  jets 
into  the  air  that  looked  like  a  thousand 
fountains. 

46 


€fy  Wk  %mA 


The  following  year  the  fifth  sister  was 
fifteen.  Her  birthday  happened  at  a  differ- 
ent season — it  was  in  winter;  and  so  she 
saw  what  the  others  had  not  seen  when  she 
went  rip  for  the  first  time.  The  sea  had 
become  green,  and  icebergs  were  swimming 
about  its  surface.  These  looked  like  pearls, 
she  said,  but  were  higher  than  the  church- 
towers  on  the  land.  She  had  seated  herself 
on  one  of  these  swimming  ice-pearls,  and 
let  the  wind  play  with  her  long  hair ;  but 
every  ship  had  quickly  hoisted  its  sails,  and 
had  hastened  frightened  away.  The  same 
evening  the  sky  was  covered  with  clouds, 
and  while  the  huge  blocks  of  ice  sank  and 
rose  again  out  of  the  sea,  and  shone  in  the 
red  glare,  flashes  of  lightning,  burst  forth 
from  the  clouds,  and  the  thunder  rolled  on 
peal  after  peal.  Then  on  every  ship  the 
sails  were  furled,  and  fear  and  terror  reign- 
ed on  board.  But  the  Princess  remained 
quietly  seated  on  her  icy  rock,  and  watched 
unconcernedly  the  blue  zig-zag  of  the  light- 
ning flashing  in  vivid  light  through  the 
clouds  rushing  into  the  sea. 

47  '        \ 


#f*  rati*  Wm& 


The  first  time  that  each  of  these  sisters 
rose  from  the  sea,  she  was  astonished  and 
enchanted  at  the  sight  of  the  many  new 
and  beautiful  objects  which  she  had  seen 
in  the  upper  world.  But  when  now,  as 
grown-up  maidens,  they  had  permission  to 
go-up  as  often  as  they  liked,  it  soon  lost  the 
charm  of  novelty,  and  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore their  own  home  seemed  much  more 
delightful  than  the  upper  world;  for  here  all 
seemed  congenial. 

Many  an  evening  did  the  five  sisters, 
arm-in-arm,  rise  to  the  surface  of  the  sea. 
Their  voices  were  much  sweeter  than  that 
of  any  mortal ;  and  when  a  storm  was  ap- 
proaching they  swam  before  the  ships  and 
sang,  oh,  so  beautifully !  of  the  joy  it  was 
to  dwell  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  and 
begged  the  mariners  not  to  be  afraid,  but  to 
come  down  to  them. 

The  sailors,  however,  did  not  understand 
their  words ;  they  took  the  song  for  the 
whistling  of  the  blast,  and  so  lost  the  sight 
of  the  beauties  of  the  deep ;  for  when  a  ship 
went  down,  the  men  on  board  were  drown- 

48 


♦ 


«jp  jttttb  Mwmfifc 

ed,  and  arrived  dead  at  the  palace  of  the 
Ocean-King. 

When  the  sisters  thus  swam  in  the  even- 
ing hours  on  the  tops  of  the  waves,  the 
youngest  remained  quite  alone  in  her  fa- 
therms  palace,  looking  after  them ;  and  at 
such  times  she  felt  as  though  she  should 
weep.  But  the  Mermaids  have  no  tears, 
and  therefore  suffer  immeasurably  more  in 
their  sorrow  than  men,  for  sorrow  melts  men 
with  tears. 

"Oh,  were  I  but  fifteen  years  old!"  sigh- 
ed she.  "  I  know,  for  certain,  that  I  should 
love  the  upper  world,  and  the  men  that  live 
upon  it,  very  dearly  !" 

At  length  the  much-desired  fifteenth  year 
was  attained  ! 

"Now,  then,  it  is  your  turn,  and  we  are 
quit  of  you,"  said  the  old  grandmother. 
"Come  here,  that  I  may  dress  you  like  your 
sisters." 

So  saying,  she  placed  a  royal  wreath 
of  white  lilies  in  her  hair,  whose  every 
petal  was  the  half  of  a  pearl,  and  the  old 
lady  ordered  eight  large   oysters   to  hang 

4  49 


«lp>  HTxttk  MmnA 

themselves  to  the  tail  of  the  Princess,  as  a 
sign  of  her  high  descent. 

"But  that  hurts  me  so!"  said  the  little 
Princess. 

"  Little  discomforts  are  not  to  be  minded, 
if  we  wish  to  look  well,"  answered  the 
grandmother. 

She  would  so  gladly  have  cast  aside  all 
her  finery,  and  taken  oif  the  heavy  wreath, 
for  her  red  flowers  out  of  the  little  garden 
became  her  much  better ;  but  she  dared  not 
do  so  before  the  old  lady. 

"Adieu,"  said  she,  and  rose  out  of  the 
sea  as  light  and  as  beautiful  as  an  air-bub- 
ble in  the  water. 

The  sun  had  just  left  the  horizon  as  she, 
for  the  first  time  in  her  life,  appeared  on  the 
surface  of  the  ocean;  but  the  clouds  still 
shone  golden  and  rose-colored,  the  evening 
star  gleamed  in  the  pale  red  sky,  the  air  was 
mild  and  refreshing,  and  the  sea  as  smooth 
as  a  mirror. 

A  large  ship  with  three  masts  lay  on  the 
tranquil  waters ;  a  single  sail  was  hoisted, 
for  not  a  breath  of  air  was  perceptible,  and 

50 


the  sailors  were  sitting  on  the  yards  or  in 
the  rigging.  Music  and  song  sounded  from 
on  board ;  and  when  it  was  dark,  hundreds 
of  lamps  suddenly  glittered  on  the  ship,  and 
it  looked  as  if  the  flags  of  every  nation  were 
fluttering  in  the  air. 

The  little  Mermaid  swam  to  the  cabin- 
windows,  where,  each  time  the  waves  lifted 
her  on  high,  she  was  able  to  see  through  the 
clear  glass  panes.  Here  she  saw  many 
gaily-dressed  persons;  but  the  handsomest 
of  all  was  the  young  Prince  with  the  large 
dark  eyes.  He  was  certainly  not  more  than 
sixteen.  It  was  his  birth-day  that  was  be- 
ing kept,  on  which  account  were  all  these 
festivities.  The  seamen  danced  on  the 
deck ;  and  when  the  young  Prince  appeared 
among  them,  hundreds  of  rockets  were  sent 
up  into  the  air,  turning  the  night  into  bright 
day,  and  frightening  the  little  Mermaid  so 
much  that  she  plunged  beneath  the  water 
for  a  minute  or  two.  But  she  soon  peeped 
out  of  the  water  again,  and  it  now  seemed 
as  if  all  the  stars  of  heaven  were  falling 
around  her.     Such  a  rain  of  fire  had  she 

51 


tip  %Mt  jfimnaft. 

never  seen :  of  such  arts,  known  but  to  men, 
she  had  never  even  dreamed.  Large  suns 
turned  round,  glowing  fishes  swam  in  the 
air,  and  the  whole  spectacle  was  reflected  in 
the  clear  surface  of  the  sea.  On  the  ship 
itself  it  was  so  light,  that  one  could  distin- 
guish the  smallest  object,  and  see  all  the 
persons  distinctly — oh,  how  handsome  the 
young  Prince  was  !  To  many  of  the  people 
he  gave  his  hand,  and  joked  and  laughed ; 
while  the  music  sounded  pleasantly  in  the 
silence  of  the  night. 

It  was  already  late ;  however,  the  little 
Princess  could  not  tear  herself  away  from 
the  sight  of  the  ship  and  the  handsome 
Prince.  She  remained  looking  through  the 
cabin  window,  rocked  to  and  fro  by  the 
waves.  But  there  was  a  hissing  or  roaring 
in  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  while  the  Prin- 
cess still  swam  on  the  surface  in  order  to 
see  the  Prince.  The  ship  began  to  move 
more  quickly,  the  sails  -were  hoisted,  the 
waves  tossed,  black  cloulds  gathered  over 
the  sky,  and  the  noise  of  distant  thunder 
was  heard.     The  sailors  perceived  that  a 

52 


#JN  tMi  Mnmi§. 

storm  was  coming  on,  so  they  again  furled 
the  sails.  Already  the  huge  vessel  rocked 
on  the  heaving  sea  like  a  mere  skiff,  and  the 
waves,  towering  on  high  like  black  moun- 
tains, broke  over  it :  but  the  good  ship 
glided  downwards  in  the  hollow  of  the  sea 
like  a  swan,  and  appeared  again  immediate- 
ly riding  on  the  crest  of  the  waves  now 
lashed  into  foam. 

To  the  little  Mermaid  this  appeared  very 
amusing :  but  not  s&  to  the  sailors  on  board. 
The  vessel  creaked  and  groaned,  and  her 
thick  ribs  bent  under  the  heavy  blows  of  the 
waves  against  her  side,  while  the  water 
rushed  in.  For  a  moment  the  ship  reeled ; 
the  mainmast  snapped  as  though  it  had  been 
a  reed :  she  capsized  and  filled.  Now  the 
little  Mermaid  comprehended  that  the  people 
on  board*  were  in  danger;  for  she  her  self  was 
obliged  to  take  care  of  the  spars  and  timbers 
that  had  been  torn  away  from  the  ship,  and 
were  now  floating  about  in  all  directions  on 
the  waves. 

But  at  this  moment  it  became  so  dark 
that  she  could  not  distinguish  anything : 
s  53 


«Ijb  littk  Mnrmk 

though  when  the  dreadful  lightning  played, 
it  was  so  light  that  she  recognized  every- 
body on  the  wreck.  Her  eyes  sought  the 
young  Prince  just  at  the  moment  when  the 
ship  went  to  pieces  and  sank.  At  first  she 
felt  so  glad,  thinking  that  the  Prince  wOuld 
now  come  to  her ;  but  she  immediately  re- 
collected that  men  cannot  live  in  the  water, 
and  that  therefore  the  Prince  would  only 
reach  her  palace  as  a  corpse.  Die?  no, 
that  he  should  not !  S»  she  swam  through 
the  pieces  of  wreck  that  the  waves  were 
driving  about  in  all  directions,  forgetful  of 
her  own  danger,  dived  and  rose  again,  till 
at  last  she  reached  the  spot  where  the 
Prince,  almost  exhausted,  but  just  ikept 
himself  with  difficulty  above  water.  His 
eyes  were  already  closing,  and  he  would  in- 
evitably have  been  drowned  if 'the  little 
Mermaid  had  not  come  to  his  rescue.  But 
she  seized  hold  of  him,  and,  while  she  was 
driving  along  by  the  waves,  bore  him  above 
the  water 

Towards  morning  the  storm  abated  :  but 
not  a  trace  of  the  ship  was  to  be  seen.     The 


€kt  little  Mwmit 


sun  rose  as  red  as  fire  from  the  sea.  Its 
first  rays  seemed  to  color  the  Prince's 
cheeks,  but  his  eyes  were  still  shut.  The 
young  Mermaid  kissed  his  high  forehead, 
and  put  back  his  wet  hair  from  his  face. 
While  in  this  state  he  resembled  the  marble 
figure  down  in  her  garden:  she  kissed  him 
once  more,  and  wished  most  fervently  that 
he  might  revive,  and  that  his  eyes  might 
open  and  look  once  upon  her. 

Now  she  beheld  the  firm  land  with  its 
high  mountains,  on  which  the  white  snow 
was  shining.  A  green  wood  stretched 
along  the  coast,  and  fronting  it  lay  a  chapel 
or  a  cloister  ;  she  could  not  well  distinguish 
which.  Citrons  and  oranges  displayed 
themselves  in  the  garden,  and  toward  the 
gates  was  an  avenue  of  tall  palm-trees. 
The  sea  formed  here  a  small  bay,  in  which 
the  water  was  quite  still,  but  very  deep; 
and  only  under  the  rocks  on  the  shore  the 
fine  sand  that  had  been  washed  up  formed 
a  firm  ground.  Hither  the  Mermaid  swam 
with  the  seemingly  dead  Prince,  laid  him 
on  the  warm  sand,  and  took  care  to  place 

55 


€\t  little  0ttmA 

his  head  the  higher,  and  to  turn  his  face 
towards  the  sun,  that  its  warmth  might  call 
back  his  life. 

In  the  large  white  building  that  stood  be- 
fore her,  the  bells  began  to  sound,  and  many 
young  maidens  came  out  to  walk  in  the 
garden.  The  little  Princess  withdrew  from 
the  shore,  hid  herself  behind  some  pieces  of 
rock,  covered  her  head  and  hair  with  the 
froth  of  the  sea  in  order  that  her  face  might 
not  be  seen,  and  watched  carefully  to  see 
who  would  approach  the  Prince. 

It  was  not  long  before  one  of  the  young 
girls  went  towards  him.  She  seemed  quite 
terrified  at  the  sight  of  the  lifeless  Prince ; 
but,  soon  recovering  herself,  she  ran  back  to 
call  her  sistets.  The  little  Mermaid  saw 
too  that  the  \Prince  revived,  and  smiled 
lundly.and  joyfully  on  all  who  surrounded 
him ;  but  on  h^r  he  fcast  no  look,  for'he  did 
not  know  that\  it  was  to  her  he  owed  his 
preservation.  And  when  the  Prince  was 
taken  from  the  ground  where  she  had  laid 
him,  and  carried  into  the  large  building,  sh 
grew  so  sad,  that  she  immediately  plunge 
56  > 


-. 


${l*  jtittli  3.&rm(t& 


beneath  the  waiter  and  returned  sorrowful 
to  her  father's  palace. 

If  she  had  been  formerly  thoughtful  and 
quiet,  she  was  henceforward  still  more  so. 
Her  sisters  asked  her  what  she  had  seen  in 
the  world  above,  on  the  first  day  of  her  ma- 
jority; but  she  gave  no  answer. 

She  often  rose  of  an  evening  near  the 
shore  where  she  had  left  the  prince;  she 
.  saw  how  the  fruits  of  the  garden  ripened 
and  were  gathered ;  she  saw  how  the  snow 
on  the  high  mountains  vanished  ;  but  the 
Prince  she  could  never  see  ;  and  she  always, 
therefore,  returned  to  her  submarine  dwell- 
ing melancholy  and  sad. 

Here  it  was  her  only  consolation  to  sit  in 
the  little  garden,  and  to  embrace  the  little 
statue  that  resembled  the  handsome  Prince  ;  • 
but  she  tended  her  flowers  no  longer  ;  they 
grew  up  wild,  covered  the  paths,  and 
twined  their  long  stalks  and  leaves  in  such 
rank  luxuriance  round  the  branches  of  the 
trees,  that  the  whole  garden  was  turned  into 
a  gloomy  bower. 
.    At  last  being  no  longer  able  to  conceal  hei 

57 


€fo  little  Mnmml 


sorrow,  she  disclosed  her  secret  to  one  of  her 
sisters.  The  other  sisters  now  learned  the 
secret  immediately ;  but  only  they  and  some 
few  of  their  friends.  Among  the  latter  was 
one  who  recollected  the  Prince ;  she,  too, 
had  been  a  witness  of  the  festivities  on 
board  ;  she  knew  also  in  what  country  he 
was  to  be  found,  and  the  name  of  his 
sovereign. 

"  Come,  little  sister  I"  said  the  other 
Princesses,  and,  twining  their  arms  together, 
they  rose  in  a  line  out  of  the  sea  just  in  front 
of  the  castle  of  the  Prince. 

This  castle  was  built  of  pale  yellow 
shining  stones,  and  furnished  with  a  flight 
of  steps  of  white  marble,  the  last  of  which 
reached  to  the  very  margin  of  the  sea. 
Over  the  roof  was  spread  a  magnificent 
gilded  dome,  and  between  the  columns  which 
surrounded  the  castle  stood  white  marble 
figures  resembling  living  men.  Through 
the  clear  glass  of  the  high  windows  one 
could  see  into  the  splendid  halls,  where  the 
silken  curtains  were  looped  up  in  festoons, 
and  all  the  walls  decorated  with  the  finest 

58 


€\p  tMh.  MnmA 


pictures ;  so  that  the  sight  of  this  gorgeous 
dwelling  was  a  real  delight  for  the  little  Mer- 
maid. In  the  middle  of  one  of  the  halls  of 
state  a  jet  of  water  made  a  splashing  noise, 
sending  up  its  stream  to  the  glass  cupola 
above  j  and  through  it  the  sun  shone  on  the 
water,  and  on  the  sweet  plants  and  flowers 
which  grew  around  it. 

Now,  then,  the  little  Princess  knew  where 
her  dear  Prince  lived ;  and  from  this  hour 
she  showed  herself  nearly  every  evening, 
and  many  a  night  on  the  water.  She  often 
approached  the  land  nearer  than  her  sisters 
had  ventured  to  do  ;  she  even  swam  up  the 
whole  length  of  the  narrow  canal  that  led 
below  the  marble  balcony,  Avhose  long  sha- 
dow was  reflected  in  the  water.  Here,  then, 
she  tarried  to  gaze  at  the  young  Prince,  who 
imagined  himself  alone  in  the  clear  moon- 
light. 

She  often  saw  him,  too,  on  the  waters  in 
his  splendid  barge,  over  which  the  many 
gay  flags  were  flying.  She  listened  from 
among  the  green  rushes  which  grew  on  the 
banks,  to  hear  his  voice ;  and  if  by  chance 

59 


€\)i  littb  UmA 


a  light  breeze  caught  her  silver  veil,  and  the 
fluttering  was  observed  by  those  in  the 
Prince's  boat,  they  thought  it  was  only  a 
swan  stretching  out  its  long  white  wings 
over  the  water. 

Many  a  night  when  the  fishermen  were 
at  their  occupation  by  torchlight,  she  heard 
them  relating  much  good  of  the  Prince, 
and  the  noble  actions  he  had  performed. 
Then  she  rejoiced  greatly  at  having  saved 
his  life,  when,  half-dead,  he  was  struggling 
with  the  waves  ;  and  she  remembered  how 
his  head  had  rested  on  her  shoulder,  and 
how  she  had  kissed  him  when  he  knew  no- 
thing of  it,  nor  even  dreamed  of  such  a 
thing. 

Dearer  and  dearer  did  the  human  race  be- 
come to  her,  and  more  and  more  did  she 
wish  to  belong  to  them.  Their  world  seem- 
ed to  her  much  larger  than  that  of  the  dwell- 
ers in  the  sea  ;  for  they  could  fly  away  in 
their  ships  over  the  ocean,  climb  to  the  sum- 
mits of  the  highest  mountains,  that  reached 
the  clouds  of  heaven ;  and  their  countries, 
bordered  by  woods  and  decked  with  plea- 

60 


«ji*  littb  MtmA 

sant  fields,  extended  themselves  much  far- 
ther than  the  eye  of  a  Mermaid  could 
reach. 

There  were  so  many  things  about  which 
she  would  have  gladly  asked  for  infor- 
mation; but  her  sisters  could  give  her  no 
satisfactory  answers.  So  she  was  obliged 
to  have  recourse  to  the  old  Queen-mother, 
who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  upper- 
world,  which  she  used  to  call  "the  country 
above  the  sea."  ' 

"  Does  the  human  race  live  for  ever  if  the 
people  are  not  drowned  V  asked  she  once 
of  her  grandmother.  "  Do  they  never  die, 
as  we  do  who  live  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea?" 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  old  lady,  "  they  must 
die  as  well  as  we  ;  and  besides,  their  lifetime 
is  much  shorter  than  ours.  We  can  live  to 
be  three  hundred  years  of  age ;  but  then 
when  we  die  we  become  but  foam  on  the 
sea,  and  have  not  even  a  grave  here  below 
among  those  we  love.  We  have  no  immor- 
tal soul,  Ave  do  not  live  again,  but  are  like 
reeds  that,  once  cut,  can  never  more  grow 
green.     But  men,  on  the  contrary,  have  a 

T  61 


€\)i  IDittk  MtmA 


soul  that  still  lives  on  when  their  bodies  arfl 
turned  to  earth,  and  which  soars  upward  to 
the  shining  stars  in  heaven.  As  we  rise  out 
of  the  water  to  see  the  countries  of  men,  so 
do  they  rise  to  unknown  fair  abodes  in  the 
skies,  which  our  eyes  are  not  permitted  to 
behold." 

"  Why  do  we  not  have  immortal  souls?" 
asked  the  little  Mermaid.  "I  would  give 
all  my  three  hundred  years  to  be  a  human 
creature  only  for  a  day,  and  then  to  be 
allowed  to  dwell  forever  in  the  heavenly 
world." 

"  You  must  not  think  of  such  a  thing," 
answered  her  old  grandmother.  "  Why,  we 
are  much  better  off  than  men,  and  are  far 
happier." 

"  Then  I  must  die,  and  be  drifted  about 
like  foam  upon  the  waves  !  I  shall  no  long- 
er hear  the  sweet  murmur  of  the  sea,  nor 
behold  the  beautiful  flowers,  nor  the  red  sun  ! 
— And  is  there  nothing  I  can  do,  grand- 
mother, by  which  I  may  obtain  an  immortal 
soul?" 

"No,"   answered   she.     "When  only  a 


€jt  Xfflt  mmm. 

mortal  loveth  thee  so  much  that  thou  art 
more  to  him  than  father  and  mother  ;  when 
every  thought  and  all  his  love  is  concentra- 
ted in  thee,  and  he  gives  his  hand  to  the 
priest  to  be  laid  in  thine  with  the  promise  of 
everlasting  constancy,— then  only  canst 
thou  become  immortal ;  for  then  would  his 
soul  dissolve  in  thine,  and  thou  wouldst  be 
made  a  partaker  of  human  happiness.  But 
that  can  never  happen  !  What  in  our  eyes 
is  the  handsomest  part  of  our  bodies,  the 
fish's  tail  is  considered  frightful  by  the  in- 
habitants of  earth,  because,  forsooth,  they 
know  no  better.  According  to  their  notions, 
one  must  have  two  awkward  props  to  one's 
body,  '  legs,'  as  they  call  them,  in  order  to 
look  well  I" 

Then  the  little  Mermaid  sighed,  and  look 
ed  sorrowfully  at  the  scaly  part  of  her  other- 
wise beautiful  body. 

"Let  us  be  happy!"  continued  the  old 
lady,  "  We  have  three  hundred  years  to  skip 
and  swim  about,  and  that  is,  after  all,  a 
pretty  good  time  for  enjoyment ;  when  it  is 
over,  I  do  not  doubt  but  that  our  sleep  will 

63 


Sfc '  jtittk  Staiaft. 


be  a  quiet  one.  To-night  there  is  a  ball  at 
court." 

And  a  splendor  was  there,  such  as  one 
never  sees  on  earth.  The  walls  of  the 
spacious  ball-room  were  of  the  thickest,  yet 
clearest  crystal ;  '  many  hundred  colossal 
grass-green  and  rose-colored  shells  stood  in 
rows  at  the  sides;  and  in  these  blue  flames 
were  burning,  that  not  only  illumined  the 
whole  hall,  but,  shining  through  the  crystal 
walls,  lighted  up  the  sea  far  around.  From 
the  hall,  therefore,  could  be  seen  more  bril- 
liant than  ever,  innumerable  large  and  small 
fishes  of  the  ocean,  some  with  scales  of  gold 
and  silver,  and  some  quite  red  and  purple. 

Through  the  middle  of  the  large  ball-room 
flowed  a  clear  broad  stream,  and  on  it 
danced  the  Mermen  and  the  Mermaids  to 
the  melody  of  their  own  sweet  voices,  voices 
far  sweeter  than  those  of  the  dwellers  upon 
earth.  The  little  Princess  sang  most  beauti- 
fully of  all ;  and  the  others  applauded  and 
clapped  their  hands.  This  pleased  her  very 
much,  although  she  well  knew  that  neither 
in  the  sea  por  on  the  land  was  to  be  found  a 

64 


m 


€\t  littk  MMudk 

being  who  possessed  a  more  charming  voice 
than  hers. 

Bat  soon  all  her  thoughts  were  occupied 
with  the  world  above  her:  she  could  not 
forget  the  handsome  Prince,  and  her  grief  at 
not  possessing  an  immortal  soul  was  very 
great.  She  therefore  stole  away  from  her 
father's  house ;  and  while  all  within  was 
merriment  and  joy,  she  sat  absorbed  in 
thought,  and  hidden  under  the  thick  foliage 
in  her  little  neglected  garden. 

On  a  sudden  she  heard  the  sound  of  horns, 
echoing  from  above  through  the  water,  far 
away  in  the  distance ;  and  she  thought, 
"  He  is  about  to  depart,  for  the  chase, — he 
whom  I  love  more  than  my  father  and 
mother,  who  occupies  my  thoughts  incess- 
antly, and  in  whose  hand  I  would  so  gladly 
lay  the  happiness  of  my  life  !  All,  all,  will 
I  hazard  to  win  him  and  an  immortal  soul  ! 
^Vhile  my  sisters  are  dancing  in  the  palace, 
I  will  go  to  the  Witch  of  the  Sea,  whom  it 
is  true  I  always  dreaded,  but  who,  after  all, 
is  perhaps  the  only  one  who  can  counsel  and 
assist  me." 

*' §  65 


€\t  Xittk  %im& 

The  little  Mermaid  now  left  the  garden, 
and  went  to  the  roaring  Maelstrom,  beyond 
which  the  sorceress  dwelt.  She  had  never 
been  that  way  before  :  no  flower  grew  along 
the  path,  no  sea-weed,  and  nothing  but  the 
bare,  grey,  sandy  ground  extended  itself  to 
the  Maelstrom,  in  which  the  water  whirled 
like  rushing  mill-wheels,  and  hurled  all  that 
it  seized  on  down  into  the  abyss.  She 
would  have  to  pass  through  the  middle  of 
this  crushing  whirlpool,  to  arrive  at  the 
territory  of  the  Ocean- Witch ;  and  here, 
again,  a  long  part  of  the  way  led  through 
boiling  ooze,  called  by  the  sorceress  her 
moor-ground. 

Behind  this  waste  lay  her  house,  in  a  wood 
of  a  peculiar  sort,  and  a  strange  abode  it 
was.  All  the  trees  and  bushes  consisted  of 
polypi,  hundred-headed,  and  looking  like 
serpents  shooting  up  out  of  the  earth.  The 
branches  were  long  shiny  arms,  with  fingers 
of  supple  worms,  that,  from  the  roots  to  the 
very  highest  top,  unceasingly  stretched 
out  in  every  direction.  What  they  caught 
in  this  manner  they  held  so  tight  in  their 

C6 


€ \)t  fctttlt  fflnmil 


snake-like  folds,  that  it  could  never  get  loose 
again. 

The  little  Mermaid  stood  quite  horrified 
before  this  frightful  wood ;  her  heart  palpi- 
tated with  fear,  and  she  had  nearly  turned 
back,  her  mission  unaccomplished,  when 
her  thoughts  fell  on  the  Prince  and  the  im- 
mortal soul,  and  inspired  her  with  new 
strength.  She  therefore  bound  up  her  long 
flying  hair,  that  the  polypi  might  not  seize  it 
and  drag  her  towards  them,  folded  her  arms 
crosswise  over  her  bosom,  and  then,  more 
swiftly  than  a  fish  darts  through  the  water, 
she  flew  by  the  hideous  polypi,  who  now  in 
vain  stretched  out  their  greedy  arms  towards 
her.  But  she  saw  how  each  tree  had  seized 
something,  and  a  thousand  little  arms  held 
it  as  fast  as  though  it  were  enlocked  by 
hands  of  iron.  Mortals  who  had  been  lost 
at  sea,  and  had  sunk  in  the  abyss,  grinned 
as  white  skeletons  from  out  the  arms  of 
these  polypi ;  rudders,  chests,  skeletons  of 
.  and-animals,  were  held  fast  in  their  em- 
brace, and  even  a  little  Mermaid  was  there 
that  they  had  dragged  into   their  clutches 

67 


and  strangled,  which,  for  the  poor  Princess, 
already  trembling  with  fear,  mast  have  been 
a. dreadful  sight. 

After  she  had  passed  safely  through  the 
fearful  wood,  she  reached  a  slimy  place 
where  large  fat  sea-snails  were  crawling 
about ;  and  in  the  middle  of  this  place  stood 
a  house  built  of  the  bones  of  human  beings 
who  had  been  lost  at  sea.  Here  sat  the 
Witch,  caressing  a  toad  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  we  often  see  persons  feeding  a  canary, 
with  sugar.  The  disgusting  fat  snails  she 
called  her  chickens,  and  allowed  them  to  sit 
upon  her  spongy  shoulders  and  creep  about 
her  skinny  neck. 

"  I  know  well  what  you  would  ask  of 
me,"  said  she  to  the  little  Princess  ;  "  your 
intention  is  foolish  enough,  but,  nevertheless, 
your  wish  shall  be  fulfilled,  my  pretty 
maiden,  though  it  is  sure  to  bring  misfor- 
tune on  you.  You  would  like  to  get  rid  of 
your  tail,  and  to  have  hi  its  place  two  stilts 
such  as  men  use,  that  the  young  Prince  may 
fall  in  love  with  you,  and  so  you  may  get 
an  immortal"  soul." 
<;8 


#|e  littb  jHfttnrtuX 


While  the  Witch  of  the  Sea  said  this  she 
laughed  with  all  her  might,  and  so  fright- 
fully, that  the  pet  toad  and  the  snails 
tumbled  down  and  rolled  about  upon  the 
ground. 

"  You  come  just  at  the  right  time,"  con- 
tinued she.  "  If  you  had  come  to-morrow 
after  the  sun  had  risen,  I  should  have  been 
unable  to  help  you  until  a  year's  end.  I* 
will  prepare  you  a  potion,  with  which  you 
must  swim  to  the  land;  you  must  then  seat 
3^ourself  on  the  shore,  and  drink  it.  Your 
fish's  tail  will  immediately  fall  off,  and 
shrivel  up  into  the  things  which  men  call 
'  legs;'  but  this  transformation  is  very  pain- 
ful, and  you  will  feel  the  while  as  if  a  sharp 
instrument  were  thrust  through  your  whole 
body.  All  who  then  behold  you  will  say 
you  are  the  most  beautiful  mortal  they  have 
ever  seen  ;  you  will  retain  your  gliding  gait, 
and  no  dancer,  be  she  ever  so  light,  will 
move  with  so  elastic  a  step ;  but  at  every 
motion  you  will  suffer  intolerable  pain  ;  you 
will  feel  as  though  you  were  treading  on 
pointed  blades  and  your  blood  flowing  from 

69 


«Jit  itittlt  Jtaoft. 

the  wounds.  If  you  will  subject  yourself  to 
all  these  torments,  I  will  grant  your  re- 
quest." 

"Yes,  I  will!"  answered  the  little  Prin- 
cess, with  trembling  voice ;  for  she  thought 
of  her  beloved  Prince,  and  of  the  acquire- 
ment of  an  immortal  soul. 

"But  remember,"  said  the  Witch,  "that 
you  can  never  be  a  mermaid  again,  when 
you  have  once  taken  upon  yourself  the 
human  form;  you  will  never  be  able  to 
descend  to  your  sisters  and  to  your  pater- 
nal dwelling;  and  should  you  not  gain 
the  Prince's  love  in  such  degree  that,  for 
your  sake,  he  forgetteth  father  and  mother, 
that  all  his  thoughts  and  all  his  joy  be 
centered  in  you,  and  a  priest  join  your 
hands  together  that  you  become  man 
and  wife, — without  this  you  will  never 
obtain  the  immortality  you  seek.  The 
morning  after  he  is  united  to  another  will 
be  the  day  of  your  death ;  your  heart  will 
then  break  for  grief,  and  you  will  pass  away 
and  be  changed  into  the  foam  on  the  wavls 
of  the  sea," 

70 


€$  3Ktfo  'UtmA 


"I  still  will  venture!'7  continued  the  lit- 
tle Mermaid,  pale  and  trembling  like  one  on 
the  point  of  death. 

u  But  I  must  be  paid  too,  and  it  is  no 
trifle  that  I  require  of  you  for  my  trouble. 
"You  have  the  most  charming  voice  of  all 
the  dwellers  in  the  sea,  and  on  it  you  reckon 
to  captivate  the  Prince ;  but  this  voice  I 
must  have  as  my  recompense.  The  best 
of  your  possessions  I  demand  for  my  mira- 
culous potion ;  for  I  must  give  of  my  own 
blood  to  impart  to  the  mixture  the  sharpness 
of  a  two-edged  sword." 

"  But  if  you  take  my  voice  from  me," 
said  the  Princess,  "what  have  I  left  to  cap- 
tivate the  prince?" 

'•Your  lovely  form,"  answered  the  Witch ; 
"  your  light  aerial  step,  and  your  expressive 
eyes.  These  are  surely  enough  to  befool  a 
poor  human  heart !  Well,  what  do  you  say  ? 
Have  you  lost  courage  ?  Come,  out  with 
your  tongue,  that  I  may  cut  it  off  and  take 
it  for  myself  in  exchange  for  my  magic 
drink." 

"  Be  it  so  !"  answered  the  Princess;  and 

71 


now  the  Witch  set  her  caldron  on  the  fire, 
to  seethe  the  charmed  potion.  "  Cleanliness 
is  a  principal  thing."  said  she,  taking  a 
handful  of  toads  and  snails  to  scour  her 
kettle  with.  She  then  scratched  her  bosom, 
and  let  the  black  blood  drop  into  the  vessel. 
The  vapor  that  rose  from  the  mixture  took 
such  horrid  forms  as  to  terrify  the  beholder. 
Every -moment  the  Witch  threw  in  new  in- 
gredients; and  when  the  caldron  boiled, 
sighs  and  lamentations  rose  from  it  resem- 
bling the  wail  of  the  crocodile.  At  last  the 
mixture  was  ready,  and  was  now  become  as 
clear  and  transparent  as  pure  water  as  she 
poured  it  into  a  phial. 

"There  it  is,"  said  the  hag  to  the  Prin- 
cess ;  and  at  the  same  moment  she  cut  ofT 
her  tongue.  The  little  Mermaid  was  thus 
made  dumb ;  she  could  neither  speak  noi- 
sing. 

"  Should  the  polypi  try  to  catch  hold  of 
you  when  you  pass  through  my  bower," 
observed  the  Witch,  "  you  need  only  sprin- 
kle a  drop  of  this  potion  upon  them,  and 
their  arms  will  break  in  a  thousand  pieces." 
r2 


•<Ejp  jCtttU  MnmA 

• 

But  the  Princess  found  this  unnecessary; 
for  the  polypi  drew  back  affrighted  when 
they  perceived  the  shining  phial  in  her  hand, 
that  gleamed  before  her  like  a  beaming  star. 
In  this  way  she  soon  passed  the  dreadful 
wood,  crossed  the  heath  of  the  sorceress,  and 
glided  safely  through  the  torrent  of  the  roar- 
ing Maelstrom. 

She  now  looked  once  again  at  her  father's 
palace ;  the  lamps  in  the  ball-room  were  ex- 
tin  guished,  and  all  her  family  were  doubt- 
less gone  to  rest.  She  would  not  enter,  as 
she  was  unable  to  speak,  and  was,  besides,  on 
the  point  of  leaving  her  home  for  ever.  At 
the  thought  her  heart  was  well-nigh  broken  ; 
she  glided  into  the  garden,  picked  a  flower 
from  the  bed  of  each  sister  as  a  remem- 
brance, waved  with  her  hand  many  a  fare- 
well towards  the  palace,  and  then  rose 
through  the  dark  blue  waters  to  the  upper 
world. 

The  sun  had  not  yet  risen  when  she 
reached  the  Prince's  dwelling,  and  ascended 
the  *  well-known  _  marble  steps — the  moon 
was  in  the  sky.     And  now  the  little  Mer- 

>3 


maid  emptied  the  phial  with  the  subtly- 
piercing  draught,  which  convulsed  *her 
whole  frame :  she  felt  it  pass  through  her  like 
the  thrust  of  a  cutting  sword,  and  it  affected 
her  so  violently  that  she  sank  lifeless  on  the 
ground. 

When  the  sun  rose  she  awoke,  and 
felt  a  burning  pain  in  every  limb ;  but  be- 
fore her  stood  the  object  of  her  fervent  love, 
the  handsome  young  Prince,  who  fixed  his 
dark  eyes  upon  her.  She  looked  down 
ashamed  when  she  saw  that,  in  place  of  the 
long  fish-like  tail  which  she  had  hitherto 
borne,  the  finest  legs  were  grown  which  it 
was  possible  to  have.  But  she  was  naked, 
and  she  covered  herself  therefore  with  her 
long  hair. 

The  Prince  asked*  who  she  was,  and 
whence  she  came ;  and,  smiling  sweetly, 
she  looked  at  him  with  her  bright  blue  eyes, 
for  unfortunately  she  could  speak  no  more. 
He  then  took  her  hand,  and  led  her  into  his 
castle.  At  every  step  it  was  as  the  Witch  had 
said, — as  though  she  was  treading  on  sharp- 
cutting  blades ;  but  she  bore  the  pain  wil- 

74 


lingly.  She  moved  along  beside  the  Prince 
like  a  zephyr;  and  all  who  saw  her  wonder- 
ed at  the  charming  grace  and  lightness  of 
every  movement. 

When  she  had  entered,  the  palace,  robes 
of  muslin  and  of  costly  silks  were  handed 
to  her,  and  she  was  the  most  lovely  among 
the  ladies  of  the  court ;  but  she  could  speak 
and  sing  no  longer.  Female  slaves,  prettily 
dre§sed  in  silk  and  gold  brocade,  now  ap- 
peared to  sing  before  the  Prince  and  his 
royal  parents.  One  was  particularly  distin- 
guished from  the  others  by  her  beautiful 
clear  voice ;  and  4he  Prince  testified  his  ap- 
probation by  clapping  his  hands.  This 
made  the  little  Mermaid  quite  melancholy, 
for  she  knew  she  could  have  sung  much 
better  than  these  slaves,  if  her  voice  had 
not  been  taken  from  her. 

"Oh,"  thought  she  in  silence,  "if  he  did 
but  know  that  for  his  sake  I  have  sacrificed 
my  voice  for  ever  !" 

The  slaves  now  began  to  dance.  Then 
the  dainty  little  Mermaid  stretched  out  her 
delicate  white  arms,  and  danced  with  such 

75 


«Jl*  jtittk  'Mnmft. 

a  step  and  air  as  had  never  been  seen  before. 
With  every  movement  the  lovely  grace  of 
her  body  seemed  more  apparent,  and  the  ex- 
pression which  beamed  in  her  speaking  eyes 
appealed  to  the  heart  of  the  spectators  far 
more  movingly  than  the  songs  of  the  female 
slaves. 

All  present  were  enchanted  with  her,  but 
especially  the  voimg  Prince,  who  called  her 
his  dear  little  foundling.  And  she  danced 
again,  and  more  beautifully  still,  although 
at  every  step  she  was  obliged  to  bear  the 
smart  of  cutting  knives ;  and  the  Prince  said 
she  should  always  remam  in  his  palace ; 
and  an  apartment  was  prepared  for  her,  pro- 
vided with  graceful  furniture,  and  a  bed  of 
velvet  cushions. 

And  the  Prince  had  a  riding-dress  made 
for  her,  that  she  might  accompany  him  on 
horseback  ;  and  they  rode  together  through 
the  fragrant  woods,  where  the  green  boughs 
touched  their  shoulders,  and  the  little  birds 
rejoiced  from  behind  the  fresh  leaves.  With 
the  Prince,  too,  she  climbed  the  highest 
mountains ;  and  although  her  delicate  feet 

76 


€p  littb  MtxmA 


bled  as  she  went,  so  that  the  attendants  re- 
marked it,  she  only  laughed,  and  still  fol- 
lowed her  dear  Prince  up  on  high,  where 
she  saw  the  clouds  chasing  each  other  be- 
neath them  like  a  flock  of  birds  passing  to 
other  lands. 

At  night,  when  all  iri  the  palace  were 
asleep,  she  would  descend  the  marble  steps 
to  cool  her  feet  in  the  refreshing  sea ;  and 
she  thought  then  of  her  own  dear  ones  in 
the  deep. 

Once,  while  standing  there  in  the  night, 
her  sisters  came  swimming  by,  arm-in-arm, 
and  their  singing  was  most  melancholy. 
She  beckoned  to  them,  and  her  sisters  re- 
cognized her,  and  told  her  how  great  had  been 
the  mourning  for  her  in  their  father's  house. 

Henceforward  they  visited  their  sister 
every  night ;  and  once  brought  with  them 
their  old  grandmother,  who  for  many  years 
had  not  been  in  the  upper  world,  and 
their  father  too,  the  Ocean-King,  with  the 
crown  upon  his  head.  But  the  two  old  per- 
sons did  not  venture  so  near  the  land  as  to 
be  able  to  speak  to  her. 

u  77 


titilt  3Jtamit&. 


Each  day  the  littler  Mermaid  grew  dearer 
to  the  Prince ;  he  loved  her  like  a  good  dear 
child ;  but  to  make  her  his  wife  never  even 
entered  his  thoughts ;  and  yet  she  must  be- 
come his  wife,  before  she  could  obtain  an 
immortal  soul ;  his  wife  she  must  be.  or  be 
changed  into  foam  and  be  driven  restlessly 
and  forever  over  the  billows  of  the  sea. 

"  But  do  you  not  care  most  forme  V3  her 
eyes  seemed  to  say,  when  he  pressed  her 
fondly  in  his  arms  and  kissed  her  beautiful 
forehead. 

"Yes,"  then  said  the  Prince,  "you  are 
dearer-to  me  than  all  beside ;  for  in  good- 
ness there  is  none  like  you.  You  are  devo- 
ted to  me ;  and,  moreover,  you  resemble  a 
maid  that  I  once  saw  standing  before  me, 
but  shall  probably  never  behold  again.  I 
was  on  board  a  ship  that  was  wrecked  in  a 
sudden  storm ;  the  waves  threw  me  on  the 
shore  near  a  sacred  temple,  in  which  many 
virgins  were  performing  the  offices  of  their 
religion.  The  youngest  of  them  found  me 
on  the  shore,  and  saved  my  life.  I  saw  her 
but  once ;  yet  her  image  is  vivid  before  my 

78  . 


€ju  IrttI*  MtmS. 

eyes, — she  is  the  only  one  I  can  ever  love. 
But  you  are  so  like  her\ — yes,  you  almost 
drive  her  remembrance^  from  my  soul ! 
But  she  belongs  to  the  holy  temple,  and 
my  good  fortune  has  therefore  given  me 
you  as  a  consolation.  Never,  never  will 
we  be  parted  !" 

"Oh,  he  does  not  know  thaf\it  was  I  who 
saved  his  life !"  thought  the  little  Mermaid, 
with  a  sigh.  "I  bore  him  over,  the  wild 
flood  td  the  grove  where  the  temple  stands  ; 
I  sat  behind  the  rocks,  arid  listened uf  mor- 
tals came  ;  it  was  I  who  saw  the  bejauteous 
maiden  come  whom  he  roves  more  than 
me."  And  she  sighed  deeply  at  these 
words;  for  she  couldjjJM^w^eep.--" She 
belongs  toJi£~4rc7tytemple,  he  says :  she 
neveFgoes  into  the  world]  she  will  there- 
fore never  Aneet  him  again.  But  I  am  near 
him ;  I  sek  him  daily ;  I  will  tend  him,  and 
love  him,  ^,nd  to  him  will  I  dewote  my  whole 
life.57         \ 

"  The  Prinze  will  soon  ived  the  daughter 
of  the  King  our^ighbor,"  said/the  people  ; 
u  and  that's  the  reas^n^yhy^tHe  stately  ship 

79 


\i  little  MtmA 


is  being  got  ready.  'Tis  true,  they  say  he 
is  going  to  travel  through  the  country :  but 
the  real  reason  is  to  see  the  Princess.  That 
is  the  cause  of  his  taking  such  a  large  reti- 
nue with  him."  But  the  little  Mermaid 
laughed  at  these  conjectures ;  for  she  knew 
the  Prince's  intentions  better  than  any  one 
else. 

"I  must  make  a  journey,"  said  he  to  her; 
"I  must  go  and  see  the  beautiful  Princess. 
My  parents  require  me  to  do  so ;  but  force 
me  to  marry  her — to  bring  her  back  as  my 
betrothed — that  they  will  never  do.  Besides, 
it  is  impossible  for  me  to  love  the  Princess  ; 
for  she  cannot  be  as  like  the  lovely  maiden 
of  the  temple  as  you  are ;  and  if  I  am  to 
choose,  I  would  rather  take  thee,  my  little 
silent  foundling,  with  the  speaking  eyes !" 
And  he  kissed  her,  and  hid  her  head  on  his 
heart;  and  then  she  dreamed  a  sweet  vision 
of  mortal  happiness  and  of  an  immortal 
soul. 

"  You  do  not  fear  the  water,  my  dumb 
child  ?"  asked  he  tenderly,  as  she  stood  on 
the  splendid  ship  that  was  to  convey  him  to 

80 


€\p  Jtttb  SfiratA 


the  territories  of  the  neighboring  monarch, 
And  then  he  told  her  of  storms  at  sea,  and 
of  calms,  of  rare  fish  that  inhabited  the 
deep,  and  what  divers  had  seen  below. 
But  she  smiled  at  his  words :  for  she  knew 
better  than  any  mortal  creature  how  it 
looked,  and  what  went  on,  in  the  depths  of 
the  ocean. 

In  the  moonlight  night,  when  all  on 
fcoard  slept  except  the  man  at  the  helm,  she 
sat  at  the  bow  and  looked  over  the  ship's 
side  into  the  sea.  It  seemed  to  her  as 
though  she  could  see  her  father's  palace, 
and  her  old  grandmother  with  her  silver 
crown,  as  she  gazed  down  into  the  parted 
waters. 

And  then  her  sisters  appeared  upon  the 
waves,  looked  at  her  fixedly  and  with  sor- 
rowful expression,  and  stretched  out  their 
arms  towards  her.  She  beckoned  to  them, 
smifed,  and  would  have  told  them  by  signs 
that  she  was  happy  j  but  just  at  that  mo- 
ment the  cabin-boy  approached,  and  the 
sisters  dived  down  so  suddenly  that  the  boy 
thought  the  white  appearance  he  saw  upon 

6  81 


€p  iCittl?  JHnrati. 


the  surface  of  the  water  was  only  the  foam 
of  the  sea. 

The  next  morning  the  ship  entered  the 
harbor  o!l  the  splendid  capital  of  the  neigh- 
boring king.  The  bells  rang  a  merry  peal, 
and  the  clarions  sounded  from  the  high 
towers,  while  the  soldiers  in  the  streets  pa- 
raded with  waving  colors  and  glittering 
arms. 

Each  day  brought  with  it  some  new 
festival.  But  the  Princess  had  not  yet  ar- 
rived in  the  town  :  she  had  been  educated  in 
a  convent  far  off,  where  she  had  been  taught 
the  exercise  of  all  royal  virtues.  At  last  she 
came. 

The  little  Mermaid  was  curious  to  see 
her  beauty;  and  she  .was  forced  to  acknow- 
ledge that  she  had  never  on  earth  beheld 
more  noble  features.  The  skin  of  the  Prin- 
cess was  so  fair  and  delicate  that  her  veins 
were  seen  through  it ;  and  from  behind  her 
a^?'.;  hiohss  smiled  a  pair  of  deep-brown 
eyes. 

"It  is  herself!"  exclaimed  the  Prince,  on 
beholding  her,  u  Thou  art  she  who  saved 

8<2 


#Js  Itttl*  MmA 

my  life  when  I  lay  senseless  on  the,  shore !'-' 
and  he  pressecrtiis  blushing  affianced  bride 
to,  his  beating  heart.  "  Oh,  now  I  am  more 
than  happy  !"  said  he  to  his  little  dumb 
foundling.  "  That  which  I  never  hoped  to 
see  fulfilled  has  happened.  Thou  wilt  re- 
^^joice  at  my  happiness ;  for  thou  lovest  me 
rn*©¥&.>IJ2|in  all  who  surround  me." 

Then  the  httle  Mermaid  kissed  his  hand 
in  her  dumb  sorrow,  and  she  thought  her 
heart  would  break ;  for  ^he  dawn  of  his 
marriage-day  was  to  bring  %er  unavoidable 
death. 

And  again  the  church-bells  rang,  and 
heralds  rode  through  the  streets  of  the  capi- 
tal and  announced  the  approaching  wedding 
of  the  Princess.  Odorous  flames  burnt  o\it 
of  silver  vases  on  every  altar;  the  priests 
swung  the  censers,  and  bride  and  bridegroom 
gave  each  other  the  hand  while  the  clergy- 
man blessed  the  holy  union.  The  little 
Mermaid,  clad  in  silk  and  cloth  of  gold, 
stood  behind  the  Princess  and  held  the  train 
of  her  bridal  dress;  but  her  ear  heard  not 
the  solemn  music,  her  eye  saw  nothing  of 

*  83 


-%  iCittlB  MnmA. 


the  holy  ceremony ;  she  thought  of  her  own 
death  which  that  night  was  to  bring,  and  of 
her  irrevocable  loss  of  this  world,  and  the 
next. 

On  the  same  evening  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom went  on  board  of  the  ship  ;  the  can- 
nons thundered,  flags  waved,  and  in  the 
centre  of  the  deck  stood  a  magnificent  pa- 
vilion of  gold  cloth  and  purple,  furnished 
with  the  most  costly  cushions  for  the 
princely  pair.  The  sails  swelled  with  a 
favorable  wind,  and  the  vessel  glided  lightly 
over  the  surface  of  the  blue  sea. 

When  it  grew  dusk,  colored  lamps  were 
hung  up,  and  the  ship's  crew  began  danc- 
ing on  deck.  The  little  Mermaid  was  un- 
consciously reminded  of  the  sight  the  ship 
presented  at  her  first  appearance  in  the  up- 
per world,  before  the  wreck  took  place.  A 
like  magnificence  was  then  displayed ;  and 
now  she  must  skim  along  in  the  dance  like 
a  swallow  that  is  pursued.  All  shouted 
applause;  for  never  had  she  been  seen  to 
dance  so  enchantingly.  It  is  true,  her  deli- 
cate feet  suffered  indescribably  all  the  while ; 
84 


€ty  titik  ffltmwb. 


but  she  was  now  insensible  to  that,  the  suf- 
fering her  heart  endured  overcame  all  other 
pain. 

It  was  the  last  evening  she  was  to  see  him 
for  whom  she  had  left  her  home  and  all 
who  were  dear  to  her ;  for  whom  she  had 
given  up  her  charming  voice,  and  daily  en- 
dured the  most  violent  pains,  without  his 
having  even  the  slightest  suspicion  of  the 
matter. 

It  was  the  last  night  that  she  would 
breathe  the  same  air  in  which  he,  the 
dearly  loved  one,  lived;  the  last  night  in 
which  she  would  enjoy  the  sight  of  the  deep 
sea  and  of  the  starry  sky ;  for  an  eternal 
night,  without  sense  or  dreaming,  awaited 
her.  And  all  was  joy  on  board  till  long 
past  midnight;  and  even  she  laughed  like 
the  rest,  with  "the  thoughts  of  death  and 
everlasting  annihilation  in  her  bleeding 
heart.  The  Prince  kissed  his  lovely  bride, 
and  arm-in-arm  they  went  to  rest  in  the 
beautiful  tent. 

Now  all  was  still  and  quiet  on  the  ship ; 
the  helmsman  only  continued  standing  at 

W  85 


€&  tMt  Mmmit 

the  rudder.  The  little  Mermaid  laid  her 
white  arms  upon  the  gallery,  and  looked 
towards  the  east  for  the  coming  dawn :  the 
first  sunbeam  would  be  her  death — that  she 
knew. 

Then  she  saw  her  sisters  rise  from  out 
the  sea :  their  faces  were  deadly  pale,  and 
their  long  hair  they  once  had,  was  no  longer 
fluttering  on  their  necks,  for  it  had  all  been 
cut  off. 

"  We  have  given  it  to  the  Witch,"  said 
they,  "  that  she  might  lend  her  aid,  and  that 
thou  mightest  not  perish  this  night.  She 
has  given  us  a  knife ;  here  it  is ;  feel  how 
sharp  it  is  !  Before  the  sunrise  thou  must 
plunge  it  in  the  heart  of  the  Prince;  and 
when  his  warm  blood  drops  upon  thy  feet, 
they  will  again  grow  together  and  become 
the  tail  of  a  fish  ;  thoii  wilt  be  again  a  Mer- 
maid, and  wilt  live  full  three  hundred  years 
before  thou  art  as  the  froth  of  the  sea. 
Quick,  then !  for  he  must  die,  or  thou,  be- 
fore the  sun  appear !  Our  old  grandmother 
mourns  so  sadly  for  thee,  that  her  silver 
hair  has  fallen  off  through  sorrow,  as  ours 

86 


€jjs  littk  MttmA 


under  the  scissors  of  the  Witch.  Kill  the 
Prince,  and  come  to  ns  !  Haste — haste ! 
dost  thou  not  see  a  red  streak  in  the  sky, 
announcing  the  near  approach  of  the  sun  ? 
But  a  few  moments,  and  he  will  rise,  and 
thou  art  lost  for  ever  !"  At  these  words, 
heaving  a  deep  and  painful  sigh,  they 
plunged  down  and  disappeared  beneath  the 
water. 

The  little  Mermaid  drew  aside  the  purple 
curtains  of  the  pavilion,  and  saw  the  lovely 
bride  reposing  on  the  bosom  of  the  Prince  ; 
and  she  bent  over  both,  kissed  his  forehead, 
looked  up  at  the  sky,  and  saw  that  the  flush 
of  the  opening  day  grew  brighter  and 
brighter. 

In  his  dream  the  Prince  pronounced  the 
name  of  his  bride — she  only  lived  in  his 
thoughts;  and  the  fatal  knife  quivered  in 
the  Mermaid's  hand.  But  suddenly  she 
hurled  the  murderous  instrument  far  into 
the  sea  ;  the  waves  where  it  fell  blazed  up  in 
a  bright  name,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  water 
was  dyed  with  blood.  Once  more  she  gazed 
with  glassy  eye  on  the  beloved  Prince,  then 

87 


€![*  Brittle  Mmafc 

flung  herself  from  the  ship  into  the  sea ;  and 
she  felt  her  body  gradually  dissolving  into 
foam. 

The  sun  now  rose  out  of  the  sea  ;  his 
rays  fell  warm  and  genial  on  the  cold  yeast 
of  the  waves,  so  that  the  little  Mermaid  did 
not  feel  death ;  she  still  saw  the  beautiful 
sun,  and  above  her  floated  a  thousand  lovely 
transparent  forms.  She  could  see  the  white 
sails  of  the  ship  and  the  red  clouds  in  the 
sky ;  and  the  voices  of  those  aerial  shapes 
were  such  sublime  and  spiritual  melody,  that 
a  human  ear  was  as  incapable  of  perceiving 
it  as  the  eye  was  unable  to  behold  the 
varied  imageries.  They  hovered  around 
her  floating  through  the  air  without  wings, 
borne  by  their  own  buoyancy.  The  little 
Mermaid  now  saw  that  she  too  had  a  body 
resembling  these  ethereal  forms,  and  felt 
that  she  was  gradually  raised  upwards  to 
higher  regions  from  out  of  the  froth  of  the 
ocean. 

"  Whither  are  they  bringing  me?"  asked 
she ;  and  her  words  sounded  like  the  voices 


€jn  littb  fflttmA. 


of  heavenly  beings,  which  no  earthly  music 
can  ever  imitate. 

"To  the  daughters  of  air !"  sounded  in 
answer.  "The  Mermaid  has  not  an  im- 
mortal soul,  and  can  only  obtain  that 
heavenly  gift  by  winning  the  love  of  a  son 
of  man'.  Her  eternal  life  depends  on  her 
union,  with  him.  Neither  do  the  daughters 
of  air  possess  an  immortal  soul ;  but  they 
may  win  it  by  good  deeds.  We  fly  to  burn- 
ing lands,  where  the  sultry  air  of  the  plague 
kills  the  children  of  men,  and  waft  them 
fresh  cooling  breath.  We  spread  the  fra- 
grance of  the  flowers  through  the  air,  and 
thus  distribute  new  life  and  health  over  the 
earth.  When  in  this  manner  we  have  for 
three  hundred  years  done  all  the  good  that 
lay  in  our  power,  we  obtain  eternal  life,  and 
share  the  immortal  bliss  of  man.  Poor  little 
Mermaid!  Thou,  by  the  impulse  of  thy 
own  heart,  hast  done  the  like;  thou  hast 
borne  and  suffered ;  and  now,  raised  to  the 
world  of  aerial  spirits,  thou  mayest  by  good 
deeds  earn  an  immortal  soul  at  the  end  of 
three  hundred  years." 

89 


€$  iCittk  MimM. 

And  the  little  Mermaid  stretched  her 
transparent  arms  upwards  to  the  sun,  and, 
for  the  first  time  in  her  life  tears  wetted  her 
eyes. 

And  now  again  on  the  ship  all  were 
awake  and  rejoicing;  she  saw  the  Prince 
and  his  lovely  bride,  and  watched  how  both 
sought  after  her.  Sorrowfully  they  looked  at 
the  froth  of  the  sea,  as  if  they  knew  that 
she  had  plunged  into  the  waves.  Unseen 
she  kissed  the  bridegroom's  forehead, 
smiled  at  him,  and  then  rose  with  the  other 
children  of  air,  and  soared  high  above  the 
rosy  clouds  that  floated  so  peacefully  over 
the  ship. 

"  So,  after  three  hundred  years,  shall  we 
be  soaring  in  the  kingdom  of  God  !" 

"  But  we  may  get  there  sooner!"  whisper- 
ed one  of  the  sisters  in  her  ear.  "  Unseen, 
we  fly  into  the  abodes  of  men  where  chil- 
dren are,  and  for  each  day  in  which  we 
find  a  good  child  that  is  a  joy  to  its  parents 
and  deserves  their  love,  does  God  in  his 
great  mercy  shorten  the  time  of  our  proba- 
tion.    No  child  knoweth  when    we    pass 

90 


€bji  iCittk  fflmm®. 


through  his  chamber ;  but  our  joy  at  the 
sight  calls  forth  a  smile,  and  one  year  is 
taken  from  the  three  hundred  that  we  have 
to  wait.  But  if  we  see  a  naughty  or  wicked 
child,  we  shed  tears  of  sorrow,  and  every 
tear  we  shed  prolongs  the  time  of  our  pro- 
bation by  a  day." 


91 


tfjrt  Itnrka. 


N  the  roof  of  a  house 
situated  at  the  extremi- 
ties of  a  small  town  a 
Stork's  nest  had  been 
built.  The  Mamma 
Stork  sat  in  the  nest 
with  her  four  little  ones, 
who  stretched  out  their  heads  with  their 
little  black  beaks  ;  for  as  yet  they  had  not 
grown  red.  Not  far  off,  on  the  ridge  of  the 
roof,  stood  stiff  and  proud,  the  Papa  Stork ; 
one  leg  he  had  drawn  up  under  his  body, 
so  that  one  might  suppose  he  was  really  a 


€k  iitnfe 


10  • 


little  tired  with  standing  sentry.  You 
would  have  thought  he  was  carved  out  of 
wood,  so  still  did  he  stand. 

"  It  looks  very  consequential  for  my  wife 
to  have  a  sentry  before  the  nest,"  thought 
he  to  himself ;  "for  the  people,  of  course, 
don't  know  that  I  am  her  husband, — they 
think,  no  doubt,  that  I  have  been  ordered 
here  as  sentinel.  And  it  looks  so  very 
grand  !"  And  so  he  continued  standing  on 
one  leg. 

In  the  street  below  a  whole  troop  of  chil- 
dren were  playing ;  and  when  they  observed 
the  Storks,  one  of  the  wildest  of  the  boys  be- 
gan to  sing  the  old  song  about  young  Storks 
which  the  children  in  Denmark  sing,  and 
all  the  rest  immediately  joined  in  chorus: 
but  they  did  not  repeat  the  words  very  cor- 
rectly, and  only  just  as  they  could  remem- 
ber them : 

"  Stork y  Stork,  long-legs, 

What  are  you  about  1 

Fly  home  to  your  eggs, 

Your  wife  is  in  her  nest  here, 
Your  young  are  peeping  out. 

93 


€ln  ltnrk.1 


One  we'll  hang-, 
Then  burn  his  brother  ; 

We'll  stick  the  third  upon  a  spear, 
And  then  we'll  shoot  the  other !" 

"Only  hear  what  the  boys  are  singing  !" 
said  the  little  Storks;  "  they  say  we  are  to 
be  burned  and  hanged  !" 

"Don't  care  about  what  they  say,"  said 
the  Mamma  Stork.  "You  need  not  to  lis- 
ten to  them,  and  then  they  will  do  you  no 
harm." 

But  the  boys  kept  on  singing,  and  point- 
ing at  the  Storks;  one  boy  only,  whose 
name  was  Peter,  said  it  was  wicked  to 
make  fun  of  animals,  and  would  have  no- 
thing to  do  with  the  matter. 

The  mamma  consoled  her  little  ones,  and 
said  "Don't  care  about  it;  only  look  how 
quietly  your  father  stands  ;  and  that,  too, 
upon  one  leg !" 

"But  we  are  so  frightened !"  said  the 
young  Storks ;  and  they  drew  their  heads 
as  far  into  the  nest  as  they  could. 

The  next  day,   when  the  children  met 


01 


€\)i  Itnrk 

again  at  play,  they  began  the  old  song,  as 
soon  as  they  ^aw  the  Storks  : 

One  we'll  han^ 

burn  his  brother  ! ' ' 


"  Shall  we  really  be  burned  and  hanged  V 
asked  the  little  ones. 

"What  nonsense!"  said  the  mother. 
1  ■  You  shall  learn  to  fly,  and  I  will  drill  you. 
Then  we'll  go  into  the  meadows,  and  pay 
the  frogs  a  visit.  They  bow  to  us  in  the 
water,  and  sing  •'  croak,  croak,}'  and  then 
we  eat  them.     Oh,  it  will  he  so  amusing  !'j 

"  And  what  then?"  asked  the  little  ones. 

"  Why,  then  all  the  Storks  of  the  whole 
neighborhood  assemble,  and  the  autumn 
manoeuvres  begin.  One  must  be  able  to  fly 
well  then  ;  for  if  one  cannot,  then  comes  the 
General  and  strikes  it  dead  with  his  beak. 
So  pay  attention  when  the  drill  begins,  in 
order  that  you  may  learn  something." 

"  Oh,  then,  we  shall  really  be  murdered, 
as  the  boys  said !  Oh,  do  hear  ! — now  they 
are  singing  it  again  !" 

"  Listen  to  me,  and  not  to  them,"  said 

03 


.    €1$  Itr:  .1 

the  Mamma  Stork.  "  After  the  great  ma- 
noeuvre, we  fly  away  to  the  warmer  coun- 
tries ;  far,  far  from  here,  over  the  woods  and 
the  hills.  We  shall  ffy  to  Egypt,  where  the 
three-cornered  stone  houses  are,  whose  tops 
reach  the  clouds.  They,  are  called  Pyra- 
mids, and  are  older  than  any  Stork  can 
think.  A  river  is  there  that  overflows  its 
banks,  so  that  the  whole  country  is  like  a 
morass.  Then  one  goes  into  the  mud  and 
eats  frogs." 

"Oh!"  said  all  the  little  ones. 

"Yes,  that  is  so  delightful!  The  whole 
day  one  does  nothing  but  eat;  and  while 
we  lead  such  a  nice  life,  here  in  this  country 
there  is  not  a  single  green  leaf  on  the  trees. 
It  is  so  cold  here,  that  the  clouds  freeze,  and 
crack,  and  fall  down  in  little  white  rags." 

It  was  the  snow  she  meant;  but  she 
could  not  express  herself  more  plainly. 

"Do  the  little  naughty  boys  freeze  and 
crack  into-  bits  too?"  asked  the  young 
Storks. 

"No,  they  do  not  crack  into  bits  quite, 
but  very  nearly;  and  they  are  obliged  to 

96 


stay  in  the  dark  rooms,  and  sit  in  the  chim- 
ney-corner. You,  on  the  other  hand,  all 
that  time  can  ny  ahout  in  a  foreign  land, 
where  there  is  warm  sunshine,  and  where 
there,  are  flowers."' 

Some  time  had'  now  passed,  and  the 
young  ones  were  so  large  that  they  could 
stand  up  in  the  nest  and  look  around.  And 
Papa  Stork  came  every  day  with  the  very 
nicest  little  frogs,  with  snails,  and  all  the 
titbits  that  Storks  like,  which  he  could  find. 
Oh,  it  was  extraordinary,  what  delicious 
morsels  he  got  for  them,  and  it  was  so  droll 
to  see  him  showing  off  his  triers.,  He  put 
his  head  back  quite  on  bis  tail,  and  made  a 
noise  with  his  bill  like  a  rattle ;  .and  then  he 
told  some  pretty  stories;  all  stories  about 
the  marshes. 

"  Hark  ye !  yoi*must  now  learn  to  fly  !" 
said  the  Mamma  Stork  one  day.  On  which 
all  the  four  little  ones  were  obliged  to  get  out 
of  the  nest  on  the  ridge  of  the/roof.  How  they 
tottered!  how  they  balanced  tfter^selves 
with  their  wings !  and  y'oi  tney  very  nearly 
tumbled  down.  •-"" 

7  97 


€k  & 


"Only  look  at  me!"  said  their  mother. 
;'  You  must  hold  your  head  so  !  Ana  put 
out  your  leg  so !  And  thus  must  you  set 
your  wings  !  Now,  then  !  One,  two  !  One, 
two  !  That  is  what  will  help  you  on  in  the 
world  !"  And  then  off  she  flew  a  little 
way;  and  the  young  Storks  made  a  little 
awkward  jump,  when — plump  ! — there  they 
lay ;  for  their  bodies  were  so  heavy. 

"I  don't  want  to  fly,  I  cannot,  it's  no 
use  trying,'*'  said  one,  and  crept  back  again 
into  the  nest.  ''  I  do  not  care  about  seeing 
the  warm  countries." 

"  Will  you,  then,  stay  here  and  freeze  to 
death  when  winter  comes?  Shall  the  boys 
come  and  hang,  and  burn,  and  shoot  you : 
just  wait  a  minute  till  I  go  and  call  them  !" 

"Oh,  don't!"  said  the  little  Stork,  and 
began  again  to  hop  about*the  roof  like  the 
others. 

On  the  third  day  they  really  were  able  to 
fly  a  little;  and  then  they  thought  they 
could  sit  and  rest  in  the  air ;  but — plump  ! — 
down  they  went,  and  were  obliged  to  make 
use  of  their  wings.  Just  then  the  boys 
98 


:k  Itnrb. 


went  down   the  street,   and  sang   the  old 
song: 

"  Stork,  Stork,  long-legs!" 

"Shall  We  fly  down  and  pick  oat  their 
eyes  ?"  said  the  young  ones. 

"No;  leave  them  alone,"  said  their  mother. 
"  Listen  to  me,  that  is  much  more  important ! 
One,  two,  three  !  To  the  right  about,  face  ! 
One,  two,  three  !  To  the  left  about,  face  ! 
Round  the  chimney-pot !  You  see,  that 
was  very  well !  The  last  flap  of  your 
wings  was  so  exact,  and  so  nicely  done, 
that  I  will  allow  you  to  go  with  me  to-mor- 
row to  the  marsh.  Many  highly- respect- 
able Stork-families  come  there  with  their 
children ;  now  let  me  have  the  satisfaction 
of  hearing  that  mine  are  the  nicest  and  best 
behaved  of  all;  and  stand  upright,  your 
chest  forwards  !  So  ! — that  looks  well,  and 
gives  a  sort  of  dignity  !" 

u  But  are  we  to  have  no  revenge  at  all  on 
the  wicked  boys?"  asked  the  young  Storks. 

"  Let  them  sing  as  much  as  they  like  ! 
Why,  you  fly  up  to  the  clouds,  don't  you  ? 

99 


\t 


vou  go  to  the  land  of  the  Pyramids ;  while 
they  must  freeze,  and  have  neither  a  sweet 
apple  nor  a  green  leaf." 

"But  we  will  be  revenged,  though!" 
whispered  they  to  each  other ;  and  then  the 
drilling  begeai  again. 

Of  all  the  boys  in  the  street,  there  was  not 
one  more  naughty  in  singing  jeering  songs 
than  he  who  was  the  beginner  of  it  all ;  and 
that  was  a  little  shrimp  Of  a  fellow  not  more 
than  six  years  old.  The  young  Storks 
thdtight  of  course  that  he  was  a  hundred 
years  old,  for  he  was  much  bigger  than 
their  father  or  mother ;  and  what  did  they 
know  how  old  a  child  might  be,  or  grown- 
up people  either  ?  All  their  rage  was  to  fall 
on  this  boy,  who  had  begun  to  tease  them, 
and  always  kept  on  singing  his  old  song. 
The  young  Storks  were  much  excited  ;  and 
the  bigger  they  grew,  the  less  could  they 
put  up  with  it ;  so  that  at  last  their  mother 
was  obliged  to  promise  that  they  should 
have  their  revenge,  but  not  before  the  last 
day  of  their  stay  in  the  land. 

"We  must  first  see,  you  know,  how  you 

100 


W$i  Itnrk 

go   through  the  grand  review.     If  you  be- 
have ill,  so  that  the  General  sends  his  beak 
ilhrough  your  body,  then  the  boys  will  be 
'^t  right  in  one  sense,  after  all.     Now  let  us 
see!" 

"You  shall  see,"  said  the  young  Storks  : 
and  now,  for  the  first  time,  they  really  took 
pains ;  they  practised  every  day,  and  flew 
so  lightly  and  prettily  that  it  was  quite  a 
pleasure  to  see  them. 

Autumn  came  al  last,  and  all  the  Storks 
assembled  to  fly  away  to  warmer  lands 
while  it  is  winter  with  us.  That  was  a 
manoeuvre  !  They  stretched  away  over  the 
fields  and  the  woods,  over  towns  and  vil- 
lages, only  to  see  how  well  they  could  fly; 
for  they  had  a  long  journey  before  them. 
The  young  Storks  got  on  so  capitally,  that 
on  their  testimonials  was  put,  not  only 
"praiseworthy,"  but  "  snake-and-frogwor- 
thy"  also.  This  was  the  best  character 
they  could  have  ;  and  now  they  might  eat 
snakes  and  frogs,  and  they  did  so  too. 

"Now  we  will  have  our  revenge,"  said 
they. 

x  loi 


%  Storks. 

"  Leave  off  talking  of  revenge,"  said  the 
mother.  Listen  to  me,  which  is  a  great 
deal  better.  Do  you  not  remember  the  good 
little  boy  who  said,  when  the  others  sung 
1  that  it  was  a  sin  to  make  fun  of  the  Storks;' 
"let  us  reward  him,  that  is  better  than  hav- 
ing revenge."  "Yes,  let  us  reward  him," 
said  the  young  Storks.  "  He  shall  have, 
next  summer,  a  nice  little  sister,  such  a 
beautiful  little  sister  as  never  was  seen  ! 
Will  not  that  be  a  reward  for  him  V-  said 
the  mother. 

"It  will;"  said  the  young  ones. 

"  A  sweet  Little  sister  he  shall  have  !"  con- 
tinued the  mother.  "  And  as  his  name  is 
Peter,  you  shall  all  be  called  Peter  too." 

"Yes,  but  what  shall  we  do  with  the  good- 
for-nothing  boy  who  began  to  jeer  at  us  ?" 
cried  all  the  young  Storks  at  once. 

"  To  him  we  will  bring  neither  brother 
nor  sister.  What  I  have  fixed  on  is  best. 
I  know  where  all  the  little  babies  lie  till 
the  Storks  come  and  carry  them  to  their 
parents.  The  nice  little  children  sleep, 
and  have  such  beautiful  dreams  as   they 

102 


'<%  itark 


never  have  again. .  Now  every  parent 
wishes  to  have  snch  a  little  child,  and  all 
children  wish  for  a  brother  or  sister.  We 
will. fly  to  the  pond,  and  for  each  of  the 
children  that  did  not  sing  the  song  nor  laugh 
at  the  Storks,  we  will  fetch  one." 

And  what  she  said  happened;  the  little 
boy  had  the  loveliest  of  little  sisters  next 
^ear ;  and  from  that,  time  all  the  Storks  in 
Denmark  were  named  Peter,  and  they  are 
called  so  to  this,  very  day. 


103 


Cju  iHgjithgaU. 


HINA,  you  must 
know,  has  *  an 
Emperor  who  is 
a  Chinese ;  and 
all  those  he  has 
around  him  are 
Chinese  people 
too.  It  is  a  long 
time  ago,  now, 
since  these  things 
happened,  but  just  for  that  very  reason  it  is 
worth  while  to  hear  this  story,  before  it  is 
forgotten. 

104 


iBjjB  SigjjttiigaU. 

The  Emperor's  palace  was  the  most  mag- 
nificent in  the  whole  world,  made  entirely 
of  the  finest  porcelain ;  so  costly,  but  also 
so  fragile  that  one  was  really  obliged  to  take 
care  when  one  touched  it. 

In  the  garden  the  most  curious  flowers 
were  to  be  seen,  and  on  the  most  beautiful 
of  these,  little  silver  bells  were  fastened, 
which  kept  on  tinkling,  in  order  that  no  one 
might  pass  by  without  remarking  the  flow- 
ers. Yes,  everything  was  so  cunningly  de- 
vised in  the  Emperor's  garden,  and  it  ex- 
tended so  far  that  the  gardener  himself  did 
not  know  where  the  end  was ;  whoever  went 
beyond  it,  however,  came  into  a  most  bea.u- 
tiful  wood,  with  high  trees  and  deep  lakes. 

The  wood  reached  back  a  great  way,  to 
the  very  sea,  which  was  deep  and  blue; 
great  sliips  could  sail  close  under  the 
branches.  And  amid  these  boughs  there 
dwelt  a  Nightingale,  which  sang  so  sweetly 
that  even  the  poor  fisherman,  who,  however, 
had  marly  other  things  to  do,  stood  still 
when  he  was  out  at  night  to  draw  his  nets, 
and  listened  -to  the  Nightingale. 

105 


©te  Jiqratro. 


"  How  beautiful  it  is !"  said  he  ;  but  then 
he  was  obliged  to  go  about  his  work  and 
forget  the  bird;  but  the  following  night, 
when  she  sang  again  and  the  fisherman 
came  out,  he  said  anew,  "  Oh,  how  beauti- 
ful it  is!" 

From  all  parts  of  the  world  came  travel- 
ers to  the  city  of  the  Emperor,  and  they  ad- 
mired it,  and  with  astonishment  they  beheld 
the  palace,  and  the  garden,  and  all  the 
wonderful  things  around  them ;  but  when 
they  heard  the  Nightingale,  they  all  said, 
"However,  this  the  best!" 

When  the  travelers  returned  to  their 
homes,  they  related  what  they  had  seen,  and 
the  learned  men  wrote  many  books  about 
the  city,  and  the  palace,  and  the  garden: 
but  they  did  not  forget  the  Nightingale ;  she 
was  placed  first ;  and  they  who  could  write 
poetry,  all  wrote  the  most  charming  verses 
about  the  Nightingale  in  the  wood  near  the 
deep  lake. 

These  books  went  round  the  world ;  and 
so  at  last  one  reached  the  Emperor.  He  sat 
in  his  golden  chair,  and  read,  and  read,  and 

103 


€\p  JBgifftngitlt 

every  moment  nodded  his  head ;  for  he  was 
pleased  with  the  splendid  description  of  the 
city,  and  the  palace,  and  the  garden.  There, 
too,  stood  these  words:  "But- the  Nightin- 
gale is  the  best  of  all." 

"The  deuce!"  said  the  Emperor:  "the 
Nighingale  !  I  know  of  no  Nightingale  !  Is 
such  a  bird  in  my  dominions,  and,  moreover, 
in  my  garden  1  I  never  heard  of  it ! — and 
that  one  must  first  learn  such  a  thing  from 
books  !" 

"  Hereupon  he  called  his  Chamberlain. 
He  was  so  high  a  personage  that  no  one  of 
inferior  rank  dared  address  or  speak  with 
him  ;  and  when  any  one  did  venture  to  ask 
him  any  thing,  he  only  answered  "Pe  !" — 
and  that  has  no  particular  meaning. 

"  Why,  they  say  there  is  a  most  curious 
bird  here,  called  a  Nightingale,"  said  the 
Emperor  ;  "  they  say  her  song  is  better  than 
any  thing  else  in  my  whole  empire  :  what's 
the  reason  I  have  not  been. informed  of  it?  " 

"  I  have  never  heard  her  mentioned  be- 
fore," said  the  Chamberlain;  "she  has 
never  been  presented  at  court." 

107 


tyt  lligjjtiitgak. 


"It  is  my  will  that  she  comes  heie  and 
sings  this  very  evening,"  said  the  Emperor. 
"  The  whole  world  knows  what  I  have, 
and  I  do  not  know  it  myself!" 

'•I  never  heard  her  mentioned  before," 
said  the  Chamberlain;  "  but  I  will  go  and 
look  for  her." 

But  where  was  the  melodious  bird  to  be 
found  1  The  Chamberlain  ran  up  one  flight 
of  stairs  and  down  another,  through  halls 
and  corridors;  not  a  single  person  whom 
he  met  had  heard  any  thing  of  the  Nightin- 
gale ;  and  the  Chamberlain  ran  back  again 
to  the  Emperor,  and  said  it  was  certainly 
only  a  tale  invented  by  the  persons  who 
wrote  the  books.       • 

"Your  imperial  Majesty  must  not  believe 
all  that  is  written  or  printed  in  books !" 
said  he.  "  Much  in  them  is  pure  invention, 
and  that  is  what  is  called  the  Black  Art."' 

"But  the  book  in  which  I  read  it,"  said 
the  Emperor,  "  was  sent  me  by  the  mighty 
Emperor  of  Japan,  and  therefore  it  cannot 
be  an  untruth.  I  will  hear  the  Nightingale ! 
She  must  come  here  this  very  evening ! 
108 


€ijc  Jligljtingitk. 

She  shall  enjoy  my  highest  favor ;  and  if 
she  do  not  come,  then  after  supper  I'll  have 
the  tattoo  played  on  the  back  of  every  cour- 
tier !" 

"Tsing-pe!"  said  the  Chamberlain ;  and 
again  he  ran  up  stairs  and  down  stairs, 
through  all  the  halls  and  corridors  ;  and  halt 
the  court  ran  with  him,  for  they  did  not 
much  like  having  the  tattoo  played  upon 
their  backs.  There  was  such  a  questioning 
about  the  wonderful  nightingale  that  the 
whole  world  knew  and  talked  about,  but 
which  nobody  at  court  had  ever  seen  or 
heard  of. 

At  last  they,  met  a  poor  little  girl,  em- 
ployed in  the  kitchen,  who  said :  "  The 
Nightingale  ?  oh,  I  know  it  very  well !  How 
she  can  sing  !  Every  evening  I  am  allowed 
to  carry  the  remnants  from  the  table  to  my 
poor  sick  mother,— she  lives  down,  yonder 
near  the  shore, — and  when  I  come  back,  and 
stop  to  rest  in  the  wood,  then  I  hear  the 
Nightingale  sing !  The  tears  always  come 
into  my  eyes ;  it  is  just  as  if  my  own 
mother  was  kissing  me !" 

109 


${p  Stgjjtmgal*. 

"  Little  kitchen-maid,"  said  the  Chamber- 
lain, "  I  will  get  you  a  permanent  place  in 
the  kitchen,  besides  a  permission  to  see  his 
Majesty  the  Emperor  dine,  if  you  can  con- 
duct us  to  the  Nightingale ;  for  she  is  an- 
nounced at  court  for  this  evening." 

So  then  they  all  went  together  to  the 
wood,  where  the  Nightingale  used  to  sing : 
half  the  court  was  with  them.  As  they 
were  going,  a  cow  began  to  low. 

"Oh,"  said  the  court-pages,  "now  we 
have  her  !  The  power  is  really  extraor- 
dinary for  so  small  an  animal !  I  am  cer- 
tain I  have  heard  the  voice  somewhere  be- 
fore already." 

"  No,  that  is  the  lowing  of  the  cows,"  said 
the  little  girl;  "we  are  still  far  from  the 
place." 

Then  the  frogs  in  the  pond  croaked. 

"  Admirable  !"  said  the  Chinese  court- 
chaplain  ;  "  that  is  the  famous  singer,  now  I 
hear  her;  it  sounds  just  like  the  ringing  of 
church-bells,  only  in  a  smaller  way !" 

No,    those   are   frogs,"    said    the   little 


•no 


a 


■f  jl*  ifigljiiitgitte. 


kitchen  maid.  "  But  now,  I  think,  you  will 
soon  hear  her." 

Just  then  the  Nightingale  began  to  warble 
one  of  her  long  sweet  trills. 

"That  is  she!"  said  the  girl:  "hark! 
hark  !  and  there  she'' sits  !"  And  she  pointed 
to  a  little  grey  bird  which  was  perched  high 
up  on  a  bough. 

"Is  it  possible!"  said  the  Chamberlain. 
"  I  did  not  fancy  she  would  be  like  that ! 
How  the  simpleton  looks !  She  has  doubt- 
less changed  color  at  the  sight  of  so  many 
personages  of  rank." 

"  Little  Nightingale,"  said  the  maiden 
quite  loud,  "our  gracious  Emperor  wishes 
you  would  sing  something  to  him." 

"With  the  greatest  pleasure!"  said  the 
Nightingale ;  and  she  sang  so  that  it  was  a 
delight  to  listen. 

"It  sounds  like  glass  bells,"  said  the 
Chamberlain;  "and  look  at  the  little  throat, 
how  it  moves  !  It  is  extraordinary  that  we 
never  heard  her  before  :  she  will  have  won- 
derful success  at  court." 

"Shall   I   sing  to  the  Emperor  again  7" 

in 


$lje  jSiglitiitgitli\ 

asked  the  Nightingale ;  for  she  thought  the 
Emperor  was  preserlt. 

"My  excellent  Nightingale,"  said  the 
Chamberlain,  "  I  have  the  inexpressible 
pleasure  to  require  your  attendance  this 
evening  at  a  court-festival,  where  you  will 
delight  his  Imperial  Majesty  with  your 
charming  song." 

"It  is  heard  to  far  greater  advantage  in 
the  green  wood,"  said  the  Nightingale;  but 
she  followed  willingly,  when  she  heard  it 
was  the  Emperor's  wish. 

The  palace  was  decked  out  in  fine  style ! 
The  walls  and  the  floors,  which  were  made 
of  porcelain,  glittered  from  many  thousand 
golden  lamps :  the  most  beautiful  flowers, 
with  the  merriest  tinkling  bells,  were  placed 
in  the  corridors  :  there  was  a  bustle  and  a 
draught,  and  then  all  the  bells  tinkled  so 
that  one  could  not  hear  oneself  speak. 

In  the  midst  of  the  grand  saloon,  where 
the  Emperor  sat,  a  golden  perch  was  erect- 
ed :  on  this  the  Nighingale  was  to  sit.  The 
whole  court  was  there,  and  the  little  kitchen- 
maid  had  received  permission  to  stand  be- 

112 


hind  the  door  ;  for  she  had  now  actually  the 
rank  and  title  of  "  Maid  of  the  kitchen.'* 
Every  body  was  in  full  dress;  and  every 
body  looked  at  the  little  grey  bird,  to  whom 
the  Emperor  nodded,  as  a  signal  for  her  to 
begin. 

And  the  Nightingale  sang  with  such  melt- 
ing sweetness  that  tears  came  into  the  Em- 
peror's eyes — tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks  ; 
and  then  the  Nightingale  sang  more  beauti- 
fully still ;  her  song  went  to  the  heart  of  all 
who  heard  her;  and  the  Emperor  was 
happy ;  and  in  an  ecstasy  of  delight,  he  said 
the  Nightingale  should  have  his  golden  slip- 
per, and  wear  it  about  her  neck.  Buf  the 
Nightingale  thanked  him :  she  was  rewarded 
sufficiently  already. 

u  I  have  seen  tears  in  the  Emperor's  e^es ;" 
said  she;  "that  is  tome  the  greatest  trea- 
sure. The  tears  of  an  Emperor  have  a 
wonderful  virtue  in  them.  Heaven  knows, 
in  them  I  have  reward  enough  !"  and  then 
she  sang  again  with  her  sweet  and  lovely 
voice. 

"  It  is  the  prettiest  piece  of  coquetry  ever 

8  113 


known !"  said  the  ladies  around,  and  they 
took  water  in  their  mouths,  to  make  their 
voices  liquid,  and  tried  to  move  their  throats 
as  she  did :  they  then  thought  themselves 
Nightingales ;  yes,  even  the  lackeys  and 
ladies' -maids  gave  notice  that  they  too  were 
satisfied ;  and  that  is  saying  a  great  deal, 
for,  of  all  people,  they  are  the  most  difficult 
to  please.  Yes,  the  Nightingale  was  very 
successful. 

She  was  now  to  remain  at  court,  to  have 
her  own  cage,  as  well  as  the  permission  to 
fly  out  twice  in  the  day,  and  once  in  the 
night.  Twelve  servants  were  given  her, 
who  were  to  hold  a  silk  riband  tied  to  her 
leg ;  and  pretty  tight  they  held.  There 
was  no  pleasure  in  such  a  flight. 

The  whole  town  spoke  of  the  wonderful 
bird ;  and  when  two  persons  met,  one  said 
"Night,"  and  the  other  "Gale;"  and  then 
they  sighed,  and  understood  each  other  per- 
fectly :  yes,  the  children  of  eleven  citizens 
were  named  after  her  ;  but  none  of  them  had 
her  tones  in  their  throats. 

One  day  there  arrived  a  great  parcel  for 

114 


.   €ljr  jgigdtingnl?. 

the  Emperor,  and  on  it  was  written,  "  Night- 
ingale." 

"  Here  we  have  another  new  book  about 
our  celebrated  bird,"  said  the  Emperor: 
however,  it  was  no  book,  but  a  little  piece 
of  mechanism,  which  lay  in  a  box :  an  arti- 
ficial Nightingale,  which  was  meant  to  look 
like  the  living  one;  but  set  all  over  with 
diamonds,  rubies,  and  sapphires.  As  soon 
as  the  artificial  bird  was  wound  up,  it  could 
sing  one  of  the  songs  which  the  real  Night- 
ingale sang ;  and  its  tail  went  up  and  down 
all  the  time,  and  glittered  with  silver  and 
gold.  Round  its  neck  was  a  little  riband, 
on  which  was  written,  "  The  Nightingale 
of  the  Emperor  of  China  is  poor  in  compa- 
rison with  that  of  the  Emperor  of  Japan." 

"  That's  splendid  !"  exclaimed  every  one  : 
and  he  who  had  brought  the  Nightingale 
immediately  received  the  title  of  "  Imperial 
Chief  Nightingale-bearer."  Now  they 
must  sing  together !  That  will  make  a 
fine  duet ! 

And  so  together  they  were  obliged  to 
sing ;  but  it  would  not  do  very  well,  for  the 

115 


€k  SigljtingElt  • 

real  Nightingale  sang  in  her  own  way,  and 
the  artificial  bird  was  moved  by  wheels. 
"It  is  not  his  fault,"  said  the  Chief  Mu- 
sician:  "he  Ireeps  time  wonderfully  well, 
and  is  formed  exactly  after  my  school." 

Then  the  artificial  bird  was  to  sing  alone. 
He  had  just  as  much  success  as  the  real 
Nightingale ;  and,  besides,  he  was  so  much 
prettier  to  look  at ;  he  shone  like  ^bracelets 
and  breast-pins. 

Three-and- thirty  times  did  he  sing  the 
same  piece,  and  yet  he  was  not  at  all  tired ; 
ever  body  would  have  liked  to  have  heard 
it  again  from  the  very  beginning,  but  the 
Emperor  thought  that  now  the  real  Night- 
ingale ought  to  sing  something ; — but  where 
was  she  ?  No  one  had  observed  her  take 
the  opportunity,  while  they  were  all  listen- 
ing and  looking  at  the  new  favorite  to  fly 
out  of  the  open  window,  away  to  her  own 
green  wood. 

"  But  what  is  the  meaning  of  that  ?"  said 
the  Emperor ;  and  all  the  courtiers  scolded, 
and  thought  the  Nightingale  a  most  ungrate- 
ful  animal.     "  Nevertheless   we   have   the 

116 


€{tb  SigjitingalL 

best  bird  still,"  said  they;  and  for  the  four- 
and- thirtieth  time  they  heard  the  same  tune, 
but  they  did  not  know  it  quite,  it  was  so 
difficult;  and  the  Chief  Musician  praised 
the  bird  so  exceedingly ;  yes,  he  even  assert- 
ed it  was  better  than  the  real  Nightingale.; 
not  only  as  regarded  appearance  and  the 
many  diamonds,  but  also  the  inside. 

"For  look,  your  Majesty,"  said  he,  "and 
you,  ladies  and  gentlemen;  with  the  real 
Nightingale  one  never  can  calculate  before- 
hand what  is  to  come ;  but  with  the 
mechanical  bird  all  is  determined :  it  will  be 
so,  and  not  otherwise ;  one  can  explain  it, 
one  can  take  it  to  pieces,  and  show  the 
human  contrivance :  how  the  wheels  are 
placed,  how  they  move,  and  how  one  fol- 
lows after  the  other." 

"  Just  my  opinion!"  cried  every  body; 
and  the  Chief  Musician  gainecl  permission 
\o  show  the  bird  to  the  people  on  the  next 
holiday.  "  They  should  also  hear  him  sing," 
said  the  Emperor ;  and  they  did  hear  him, 
and  were  as  pleased  as  if  they  had  been  en- 
joying themselves    with    tea — for    that  is 

117 


CjfB  Jftgpitrgak. 

truly  Chinese  ,  and  all  said  "  O  !"  and  held 
up  their  forefingers  and  nodded  their  heads. 
But  the  poor  fisherman,  who  had  heard  the 
the  real  Nightingale,  said,  "  It  sounds  pretty 
enough — it  sounds  nearly  like ;  but  yet  there 
is  something  wanting, — I  do  not  know 
what." 

The  real  Nightingale  was  banished  the 
empire.  But  she  remained  quietly  in  her 
woody  retreat. 

The  artificial  bird  had  his  place  on  a 
silken  cushion,  close  to  the  Emperor's  bed ; 
and  all  the  presents  he  received,  gold  and 
precious  stones,  lay  around  him;  and  he 
had  risen  in  rank  to  be  "Imperial  Bed- 
chamber :"  in  rank  Number  One,  on  the 
left  hand;  for  the  Emperor  considers  the  side 
on  which  the  heart  is  as  the  more  exalted ; 
and  the  heart  is  placed  on  the  left  side  even 
with  an  Emperor. 

And  the  Chief  Musician  wrote  nve-and#- 
twenty  volumes  about  the  mechanical  bird  ; 
which  were  so  learned,  and  so  long,  and  so 
full  of  the  most  difficult  Chinese  words,  that 
every  one  said  he  had  read  and  understood 

118 


€ij£  jJJigjjtragiik. 

them;  for  otherwise  he  would  have  been 
thought  stupid,  and  would  have  had  the 
tattoo  played  upon  his  hack. 

Thus  passed  a  whole  year  :  the  Emperor, 
the  Court,  and  every  Chinese  knew  each 
clucking  sound  of  the  song  by  heart ;  but 
just  on  that  very  account  they  found  it  so 
beautiful :  they  could  now  accompany  the 
song  of  the  bird ;  and  they  did  do  so.  The 
boys  in  the  street  sang  "zi-zi-zi — kluk-luk- 
luk  ;"  and  the  Emperor  himself  sang  it  too. 
Oh,  it  certainly  was  very  charming ! 

But  one  evening,  when  the  artificial  bird 
was  in  the  best  part  of  his  song,  and  the 
Emperor  lay  in  bed  and  listened,  "snap  !" 
went  something  in  the  inside  of  the  bird:  a 
something  made  "burrrrr!"  all  the  wheels 
ran  round,  and  the  music  ceased  ! 

The  Emperor  jumped  quickly  out  of  bed, 
and  sent  for  his  private  physician:  but 
what  good  could  he  do  1  Then  he  sent  for 
the  watchmaker;  and  at  last,  after  much 
debate  and  examination,  the  bird  was  in 
some  measure  put  to  rights  again ;  but  the 
watchmaker  said  it  must  be  taken  great  care 

119 


€\t  SigjjtittgitlL 

of;  for  the  pegs  were  nearly  worn  out,  and 
could  not  possibly  be  renewed ;  at  least 
not  so  as  to  play  with  any  certainty. 

That  was  a  source  of  lamentation  !  Only 
once  a  year  did  they  dare  to  let  the  artificial 
bird  sing ;  and  there  was  a  difficulty  even 
about  that :  but  then  the  principal  Musician 
made  a  little  speech  full  of  his  difficult 
words,  and  said  it  was  just  as  good  as 
formerly;  and  after  that  it  was  just  as 
good. 

Now  five  years  had  passed;  and  there 
was  a  great  mourning  throughout  the  land  : 
for  in  reality  all  cared  a  good  deal  about 
their  Emperor.  He  was  now  ill,  and  would 
not  live,  it  was  said :  a  new  Emperor  had 
already  been  chosen  ;  and  the  people  assem- 
bledbefore*  the  palace,  and  asked  the  Cham- 
berlain how  the  Emperor  was  ? 

"  Peish  !"  said  he,  and  shook  his  head. 

Chill  and  pale  lay  the  Emperor  in  his 
ample,  magnificent  bed:  all  the  Court 
thought  he  was  dead  already,  and  each  one 
had  hastened  out  to  salute  the  new  Em- 
peror ;  the  lackeys  ran  away  to  have  a 
120 


€te  SJigjjtittgalr. 


little  gossip  about  it,  and  the  ladies' -maids 
had  a  great  tea-party. 

Every  where  around,  in  all  the  halls  and 
corridors,  the  floor  was  covered  with  cloth, 
so  that  not  a  footfall  might  be  heard ;  and 
that  was  the  reason  it  was  so  still — so  very 
still.  But  the  Emperor  was  not  yet  dead : 
stiff  and  pale,  there  he  lay  in  the  magnifi- 
cent bed  with  the  long  velvet  curtains  and 
the  heavy  golden  tassels  ;  high  above,  a  win- 
dow was  open,  and  the  moon  shone  down 
on  the  Emperor  and  on  the  artificial  bird. 

The  poor  Emperor  could  hardly  breathe : 
'he  felt  as  if  something  was  pressing  on  his 
chest ;  he  opened  his  eyes,  and  saw  it  was 
Death  that  sat  on  his  breast,  who  had  put  on 
his  golden  crown,  and,  in  one  hand  held  the 
golden  sabre,  in  the  other  the  splendid  ban- 
ner of  the  Emperor ;  and  around,  from  the 
folds  of  the  great  velvet  curtains,  peeped  out 
the  strangest  faces,  some  quite  ugly,  and 
others  so  pleasing,  so  mild.  They  were  all 
the  good  and  evil  deeds  of  the  Emperor, 
which  stared  him  in  the  face  now  that 
Death  was  sitting  at  his  heart. 

121 


€\t  figjjtinple. 

"  Dost  thou  remember  this  ?"  whispered 
they,  one  after  the  other:  "  Dost  thou  re- 
member that?"  and  then  they  recounted  so 
much  that  the  drops  of  sweat  stood  on  his 
forehead. 

"I  have  never  known  anything  like  this," 
said  the  Emperor.  "  Music  !  Music  !  the 
great  Chinese  gong,"  cried  he,  "  so  that  I 
may  not  hear  what  they  are  saying  !" 

But  they  went  on ;  and  Death  nodded 
his  head  quite  in  the  Chinese  fashion  to  all 
they  said. 

"  Music  !  Music  !"  screamed  the  Emperor. 
"  Oh,  dear  little  artificial  bird,  sing — oh, 
sing  !  I  have  given  thee  gold  and  precious 
things ;  I  have  even  given  thee  my  golden 
slipper  to  hang  around  thy  neck  ;  sing  then 
— oh,  sing!" 

But  the  bird  was  silent ;  for  no  one  was 
there  to  wind  it  up — and  without  that  he 
could  not  sing;  and  Death  continued  gazing 
at  the  Emperor  with  his  great  empty 
sockets  ;  and  it  was  quite  still  the  while — 
fearfully  still ! 

Suddenly  was  heard,  very  near  the  win- 

122 


€lje  SHgjjtingal*. 

dow,  the  tones  of  the  sweetest  song  :  it  was 
the  little  live  Nightingale,  that  was  sitting 
on  a  bough  without.  She  had  heard  of  the 
severe  illness  of  her  Emperor,  and  was  now 
come  to  sing  to  him,  and  bring  him  hope 
and  consolation. 

And,  now  as  she  sang,  the  forms  became 
fainter,  and  fainter,  the  blood  flowed  quicker 
and  quicker  through  the  Emperor's  weak 
limbs,  and  even  Death  listened  and  said, 
"  Go  on,  little  Nightingale,  go  on  \" 

"  And  wilt  thou  give  me  the  magnifi- 
cent golden  sabre?  Wilt  thou  give  me  the 
splendid  banner,  and  the  Emperor's  crown?" 
said  the  Nightingale. 

And  Death  gave  all  these  emblems  of  roy- 
alty for  a  single  song  :  and  the  Nightingale 
sang  on :  and  she  sang  of  the  peaceful 
churchyard,  where  the  white  roses  bloom, 
where  the  lilac  sends  forth  its  fragrance,  and 
the  fresh  grass  is  bedewed  by  the  tears  of 
sorrowing  friends.  Thereon  Death  felt  a 
longing  after  his  garden,  and,  like  a  cold 
white  shadow,  floated  hoveringly  out  of  the 
window. 

123 


€<lj£  Sigjitragul*. 


"  Thanks,  thanks  !"  said  the  Emperor. 
"  Thou  heavenly  little  bird,  I  know  thee 
well !  I  banished  thee  my  dominions,  and 
yet  hast  thou,  by  thy  song,  dispelled  the  evil 
faces  from  my  bed,  and  Death  from  my 
heart.     How  shall  I  reward  thee?" 

"  Thou  hast  already  rewarded  me,"  said 
the  Nightingale  ;  "  I  saw  tears  in  thy  eyes 
when  I  sang  to  thee  for  the  first  time ;  that  I 
shall  never  forget.  Those  are  jewels  that 
gladden  a  singer's  heart !  But  now  sleep  and 
get  refreshed  and  well.    I  will  sing  to  thee!" 

And  she  sang,  and  the  Emperor  fell  into 
a  sweet  sleep ;  and  oh,  how  calm,  how  re- 
storative, was  that  sleep  ! 

The  sun  shone  in  at  the  window  when 
he  awoke,  strengthened  and  restored  to 
health :  not  a  single  one  of  his  servants  was 
come  back,  for  they  all  thought  him  dead  ; 
but  the  Nightingale  still  sat  there  and 
sang. 

"  Thou  shalt  always  stay  with  me,"  said 
the  Emperor ;  "  thou  shalt  only  sing  when  it 
pleases  thee;  and  as  to  the  artificial  bird, 
I'll  dash  it  into  a  thousand  pieces." 

124 


'%  Jfigjjtragitk 

"Do  not  do  that,"  said  the  Nightingale: 
"  why,  he  has  done  what  he  could.  Keep 
him  by  you  a  while  longer.  I  cannot  take 
up  my  abode  in  the  palace ;  but  let  me  come 
when  it  pleases  me ;  then  I  will  sit  of  an 
evening  on  the  bough  near  the  window,  and 
will  sing  to  thee  a  free  song,  that  thou  shalt 
be  at  once  glad  and  thoughtful.  I  will  sing 
to  thee  of  the  happy  and  suffering ;  I  will 
sing  to  thee  of  the  good  and  the  evil  which 
lies  hidden  around  thee.  The  little  songster 
flies  far  from  here,  to  the  poor  fisherman,  to 
the  cottage  of  the  peasant,  to  all  that  are  far 
from  thee  and  thy  court.  I  love  thy  heart 
more  than  thy  crown ;  and  yet  has  the  crown 
an  odor  of  sanctity  about  it.  I  will  come, 
I  will  sing ;  but  one  thing  must  thou  pro- 
mise me !" 

"Everything!"  said  the  Emperor,  and 
now  he  stood  in  his  imperial  robes,  which 
he  had  himself  put  on ;  and  held  the  scimi- 
tar which  was  heavy  with  gold,  next  to 
his  heart. 

"  One  thing  I  beg  of  thee  !  Tell  no  one 
that  thou  hast  a  little  bird  which  comes  and 

z  125 


€\)t  JSigljttitgnlf. 


tells  thee  every  th  ing !  It  will  be  much  bet- 
ter not!" 

And  then  the  Nightingale  flew  away. 

The  attendants  came  in  to  look  after  their 
dead  Emperor — yes,  there  they  stood  ;  and 
the  Emperor  said,  "  Good  morning  !" 


126 


€\)t  (Bit  of  t'Jri  %W. 


UT  in.  the  mid- 
dle of  a  garden, 
s^P^  a  long  time  ago 
there    stood    a 
rose  tree,  full  of  the 
most  beautiful  roses; 
and  in  one  of  these, 
the  loveliest  of  all, 
dwelt  an  Elf,  who 
was   so   very   tiny, 
P^that  no  rluman  eye  could 
see  him.      Behind  every 
rose-leaf  he   had  a  bed-chamber:    and  he 

1<J7 


was  as  slender  and  handsome  as  only  a 
child  can  be ;  besides  which  he  had  wings 
that  reached  from  his  shoulders  to  his 
feet. 

Oh,  how  sweetly  odorous  were  his  cham- 
bers, and  how  beautiful  and  transparent 
were  the  walls!  Those,  you  know,  were  the 
delicate  pink  rose-leaves. 

The  whole  day  he  amused  himself  in  the 
warm  sunshine : — flew  from  one  flower  to 
the  other,  danced  on  the  wings  of  the  flying 
butterflies,  and  counted  how  many  steps  he 
must  take  to  run  over  all  the  highways  and 
paths  of  a  single  linden-leaf.  That  was 
what  we  should  call  the  veins  of  the  leaf, 
but  he  looked  on  them  as  highroads  and 
footpaths.  For  him  it  was  a  long  and  weary 
way,  and  before  he  had  finished  the  sun  had 
gone  down ;  but  he  had,  it  is  true,  begun  too 
late. 

It  was  growing  very  cold,  the  dew  was 
falling,  the  wind  blew;  the  best  thing  he 
could  do  was  to  go  home  as  fast  as  he  could, 
so  he  made  as  much  haste  as  possible ;  but 
the  rose  was  closed  already,  and  he  could 

128 


tijp  M  nf  tin  1U». 

not  get  in ;  not  a  single  rose  was  open.  The 
poor  little  Elf  was  sadly  frightened ;  he  had 
never  before  been  a  single  night  from  home : 
he  had  always  slept  so  sweetly  behind  the 
warm  rose-leaves,  now,  he  certainly  would 
get  his  death  of  cold. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  garden  was,  he 
knew,  a  bower  of  honeysuckle,  the  flowers 
of  which  looked  like  large  painted  horns. 
In  one  of  these  would  he  creep,  and  sleep 
there  till  the  next  morning. 

He  flew  to  the  spot.  Hush  !  There  were 
two  persons  in  the  bower;  a  young  and 
handsome  man,  and  a  most  lovely  maiden. 
They  sat  near  each  other,  and  wished  that 
they  might  never  be  separated:  they  were 
more  to  each  other  than  father  or  mother 
can  ever  be  to  the  best  of  children. 

"  And  yet  we  must  part."  said  the  young 
man.  "  Thy  brother  looketh  on  us  with  an 
evil  eye,  and.  therefore,  sends  me  on  a  mis- 
sion far  hence,  beyond  the  mountains,  and 
across  the  sea  !  Farewell,  my  sweet  one, 
my  betrothed !  for  such  thou  art." 

And   they  kissed   each   other,  and   the 

9  129 


$|&  ili  nf  tljB  Era. 

young  maiden  wept,  and  gave  him  a  rose ; 
but  before  she  did  so,  she  pressed  a  kiss 
upon  it,  so  fervent  and  burning  that  the 
rose  opened.  Instantly  the  little  Elf  flew  in, 
and  leant  his  head  on  the  sweetly  odorous 
walls;  and  he  could  hear  quite  well  the 
words  "Farewell!  farewell!"  and  he  felt 
that  the  rose  was  placed  in  the  bosom  of  the 
young  man ;  and  oh,  how  the  heart  beat ! 
the  little  Elf  could  not  go  to  sleep,  so  violent 
was  the  knocking ! 

But  the  rose  did  not  remain  long  in  his 
bosom.  The  young  man  took  it  in  his 
hand,  and  as  he  went  alone  through  the 
dark  wood,  he  kissed  the  flower  so  often, 
and  pressed  it  so  to  his  lips,  that  the  poor 
Elf  was  almost  crushed  to  death.  He  could 
feel  through  the  leaves  how  the  young  man's 
lips  burned,  and  even  the  rose  had  opened 
as  in  the  warmest  noontide  sun. 

Then  came  another  man  through  the 
wood,  black-looking  and  angry.  It  was  the 
wicked  brother  of  the  lovely  maiden.  He 
drew  a  long  sharp  knife,  and  while  the 
other  kissed  the  rose,  the  wicked  man  stab- 

130 


€f[t  «lf  nf  %  Ems. 

bed  him  to  death,  and  cut  off  his  head;  and 
buried  it  with  the  body  in  the  soft  earth 
beneath  a  linden. 

"  Now  he  is  dead  and  forgotten!"  thought 
the  wicked  brother;  "he  will  never  return. 
On  a  distant  journey  beyond  sea  one  may 
easily  lose  one's  life;  and  so  he  has.  He 
will  not  come  back,  and  my  sister  dare  not 
inquire  about  him  of  me  !" 

So  with  his  feet  he  scraped  the  dead 
leaves  over  the  heaped-up  earth,  and  went 
home  in  the  dark  night:  but  he  went  not 
alone,  as  he  thought  he  did.  The  little  Elf 
went  with  him ;  he  sat  in  a  linden-leaf  that 
was  rolled  together,  which  had  fallen  among 
the  hair  of  the  wicked  man  while  digging 
the  grave.  He  had  now  put  his  hat  on,  and, 
it  was  within,  very  dark  ;  and  the  little  Elf 
trembled  with  fright  and  rage  at  the  horrid 
deed. 

It  was  morning  when  the  man  came  home. 
He  took  off  his  hat  and  went  into  his  sister's 
sleeping-room.  There  lay  the  lovely  bloom- 
ing maiden,  and  dreamed  of  him  she  so 
dearly  loved,  and   who   she   thought  was 

131 


€\p  (Bit  of  i\)t  En®. 

crossing  mountains,  and  passing  through 
forests ;  and  the  cruel  brother  bent  over  her, 
and  laughed  as  none  but  a  demon  can  do. 
Then  the  withered  leaf  fell  from  his  hair  on 
the  bed-covering;  but  he  did  not  remark 
it,  and  went  away  to  get  a  little  sleep  him- 
self. 

But  the  Elf  crept  out  of  the  withered  leaf, 
went  to  the  ear  of  the  sleeping  maiden,  and 
related  to  her,  as  in  a  dream,  the  dreadful 
murder:  described  the  spot  where  her  bro- 
ther had  killed  her  lover,  and  where  the 
body  lay  ;  told  her  of  the  blooming  linden 
close  by,  and  said,  "  Lest  you  should  think 
what  I  tell  you  is  a  dream,  you  will  find,  on 
awaking,  a  withered  leaf  upon  your  bed. 

And  she  awoke  and  found  the  leaf.  Oh, 
what  bitter  tears  she  wept !  But  she  dared 
tell  no  one  of  her  grief.  The  window  re- 
mained open  the  whole  day,  so  that  the 
little  Elf  could  easily  fly  out  into  the  gar- 
den to  the  roses  and  the  other  flowers ;  but 
he  had  not  the  heart  to  leave  the  sorrowful 
maiden. 

There  was  a  monthly  ro3e  in  the  win- 
132 


<Sjj*  ill  nf  tjie  Ebb?, 

dow,  and  in  one  of  its  flowers  he  seated 
himself,  and  there  he  could  be  near  the 
poor  girl  who  was  so  unhappy.  Her 
brother  came  often  into  the  room,  and  was 
so  merry  and  spiteful;  but  she  dared  not 
say  a  word  of  her  great  affliction. 

As  soon  as  it  was  night  she  stole  out  of 
the  house,  went  in  the  wood  to  the  place 
where  the  linden  stood,  dashed  away  the 
leaves  from  the  earth,  dug  into  it,  and  found 
the  murdered  man  immediately.  Oh,  how 
she  wept,  and  implored  God  mercj fully  to 
let  her  soon  die  ! 

Gladly  would  she  have  taken  the  body 
home  with  her,  but  that  she  could  not  do ; 
so  she  took  the  pallid  head  with  its  closed 
eyes,  kissed  the  cold  lips,  and  cut  away 
a  beautiful  lock  of  long  silk^-  hair,  which 
she  laid  near  her  heart. 

"This  will  I  keep!"  said  she;  and  after 
she  had  covered  the  dead  body  with  earth 
and  leaves,  she  took  home  with  her  a  little 
jasmine  tree,  that  grew,  full  of  blossoms,  in 
the  wood  where  the  grave  was. 

As  soon  as  she  was  in  her  room,  she 
a  a  133 


6jp  «lf  nf  tjit  Ebb. 

fetched  the  largest  flower-pot  she  could  find^ 
laid  in  it  the  beautiful  curling  hair,  covered 
it  with  earth,  and  planted  the  jasmine-tree 
in  the  flower-pot. 

"  Farewell !  farewell !"  whispered  the 
little  Elf;  for  he  could  no  longer  endure  fl| 
witness  so  much  grief,  and  flew  off  tq,  his 
rose  in  the  garden.  But  its  flowers  were 
gone;  a  few  faded  leaves  only  hung  still 
on  the  green  bush.  j    , 

"Alas,  how  soon -is  there  an  end  of  all 
that  is  beautiful  and  good  !"  sighed  the  Elf. 
At  last,  however,  he  found  a  rose;  he 
alighted  among  its  fragrant  leaves,  and 
made  it  his  home. 

Every  morning  he  flew  to  the  window 
of  the  poor  sorrowing  maiden :  there  she 
always  stood  beside  her  flower-pot,  and 
wept.  The  bitter  tears  fell  upon  the  jas- 
mine ;  and  while  she  grew  paler  and  paler 
from  day  to  day,  the  little  slip  grew  fresher 
aifd  greener ;  one  shoot  put  forth  after  the 
other,  and  the  delicate  buds  unfolded  them- 
selves in  flowers ;  and  she  kissed  them. 
But  the  cruel  brother  scolded,  and  asked 

134 


4k  M  rf  %  %m. 


if  she  were  gone  mad?  He  said  he  could 
not  comprehend  why  she  always  wept  over 
the  flower-pot,  and  would  not  have  her 
do  so. 

He  little  knew  what  secret  lay  within 
t]ae  dark  mould.  But  she  knew  it;  and  she 
leaned  her  head  against  the  flower-pot ;  and 
while  thus  sleeping  the  little  Elf  discovered 
her.  He  mounted  to  her  ear,  told  her  of 
the  evening  passed  in  the  bower,  of  the  fra- 
grance of  the  rose,  andfcof  the  loves  of  the 
Elves;  and  so  she  dreamed  sweetly,  and 
while  she  dreamed  her  life  departed :  the 
beautiful  angel  of  death  conveyed  her  spirit 
away  from  this  world,  and  she  was  in 
heaven  with  him  she  loved. 

And  the  jasmine  opened  its  large  white 
flowers,  and  shed  around  an  odor  of  won- 
drous sweetness ;  it  was  the  only  way  in 
which  it  could  deplore  the  departed ! 

"But  the  wicked  brother  beheld  the  beau- 
tifully-blooming tree,  took  it  for  his  own, 
and  placed  it  in  his  sleeping-room  beside 
his  bed.  The  tree  was  lovely  to  behold; 
and  its  fragrance jsweet  and  grateful.     The 

135 


ffl  fit  fff*  Boat 


little  Elf  went  with  it,  flew  from  one  flower 
to  the  other,  in  each  of  which  dwelt  a  little 
spirit ;  and  to  these  he  told  how  the  young 
man  had  been  murdered,  whose  beautiful 
curling  locks  lay  under  their  roots;  and  be 
told  them  of  the  cruel  brother,  and  of  his 
poor  sister. 

"We  know  it!"  said  each  spirit  in  the 
flower.  "  We  know  it !  Have  we  not 
grown  up  from  the  shining  hair  of  the 
dead?  We  know* it!"  And  then  tbey 
nodded  their  heads  in  a  strange  manner. 

The  Elf  of  the  Rose  could  not  com- 
prehend how  they  could  be  so  calm ;  and 
he  flew  to  the  bees  that  gather  honey,  and 
told  them  the  history  of  the  wicked  brother ; 
and  the  bees  told  it  to  their  queen,  who 
ordered  that  on  the  following  morning  they 
should  kill  the  murderer. 

But  the  night  before, — it  was  the  first 
night  after  the  sister's  death,  when  the 
brother  was  sleeping  close  beside  the  jas- 
mine,— the  chalice  of  every  flower  opened, 
and  unseen,  but  armed  with  a  poisonous 
sting,  every  spirit  of  the  flower  came  forth, 

136 


tijjt  «lf  nf  Ijif  Unse. 

and  sat  first  at  his  ear,  and  sent  such  shock- 
ing dreams  to  his  brain,  as  made  him,  for 
the  first  time,  tremble  at  the  deed  he  had 
done;  and  then  they  new  to  his  lips,  and 
stung  him  in  the  tongue  with  their  poison- 
ous darts. 

"  Now  we  have  avenged  the  de*ad !"  said 
they ;  and  flew  back  again  into  the  bells  of 
the  white  jasmine. 

At  daybreak,  when  the  window  of  the 
sleeping-room  was  thrown  open,  in  rushed 
the  Elf  of  the  Rose,  with  the  queen,  and 
the  whole  swarm  of  bees,  to  kill  the  mur- 
derer. 

But  he  was  dead  already!  Around  the 
bed  people  were  standing,  who  said,  "The 
odor  of  the  strong-scented  jasmine  has  killed 

him!" 

Then  the  Elf  understood  the  vengeance' 
oi*  the  flowers,  and  told  it  t*>  the  queen-bee ; 
and  she  buzzed  with  her  whole  swarm 
around  the  flower-pot. 
".It  was  impossible  to  drive  the  bees  away. 
Then  a  man  took  the  flower-pot  to  carry 
it  out ;  but  one  of  the  bees  stung  him  in  the 

137 


«|l*  (Elf  nf  tjp  Era. 

hand,  so  that  he  let  it  fall,  and  it  was 
broken  in  pieces. 

Then  they  all  saw  the  beautiful  hair  of 
the  murdered  man,  and  so  they  knew  that 
the  dead  man  in  the  bed  was  a  murderer. 

The  queen  of  the  bees  hummed  about  in 
the  air,  and  sang  of  the  vengeance  of  the 
flowers,  of  the  Elf  of  the  Rose;  and  that 
behind  the  very  smallest  leaf  there  dwelleth 
one  who  makes  known  every  act  of  wick- 
edness, and  can  avenge  it. 


138 


lYlgfj:  lattsb. 


jr  „ 


old  castle  with    their  cannon, 


N    Den- 
mark   is 
a      very 
old    cas- 
tle,  call- 
ed Kron- 
burg.    It 
lies  near 
where 
large  ships  sail  daily 
past    by      hundreds : 
English,  and  Russian, 
and    Prussian     ships. 
And   they  salute   the 
Boom !" 

139 


Inlgn:  Stab. 


and  the  castle  answers  with  its  cannon, — 
"  Boom !"  for  this  is  the  way  the  cannons 
say,  "  Good  morning,"  and  "  Much  obliged 
to  you." 

But  in  winter  no  ships  sail  by ;  for  the 
water  is  then  all  covered  with  ice  as  far  as 
Sweden.  It  is  quite  like  a  highway.  Danish 
and  Swedish  flags  are  waving  there ;  and 
Danes  and  Swedes  say  to  each  other, — 
"Good  morning!"  and  "Much  obliged  to 
you !"  yet  not  with  cannons,  but  Avith 
friendly  shakes  of  the  hand ;  and  the  one 
people  go  over  to  fetch  wheaten  bread  and 
cracknel  biscuits  from  the  other ;  for  we 
always  like  what  we  get  abroad  better ^ian 
home-fare.  But  the  most  magnificent  of 
the  whole  is,  after  all,  the  old  Castle  of 
Kronburg ;  and  here  it  is  that  Holger 
Danske  sleeps  in  the  deep  dark  cellar,  where 
no  one  even  enters.  He  is  clad  in  steel  and 
iron,  and  rests  his  head  on  his  stalwart  arm ; 
his  long  beard  falls  over  the  marble  table,  to 
which  it  has  grown  fast ;  he  sleeps  and 
dreams,  but  in  his  dream  he  sees  all  that  is 
going  on  in  Denmark.  Every  Christmas -eve 
140 


jEtalgw  Iteke. 

an  angel  comes  and  tells  him  that  what  he 
has  dreamed  is  true,  and  that  he  may  go  to 
sleep  again ;  for  that  Denmark  is  as  yet  in 
no  real  danger.  But  should  it  be  so,  old 
Holger  Danske  will  arise,  and  the  table  will 
split  in  twain  when  he  draws  his  beard 
towards  him.  He  then  advances  and  strikes 
a  blow  that  is  heard  in  all  the  countries  of 
the  world. 

All  this  about  Holger  Danske  was  told  by 
an  old  grandpapa  to  his  little  grandson; 
and  the  child  knew  that  what  grandpapa 
said  was  true.  And  while  the  old  man  told 
his  story,  he  worked  at  a  large  figure  of 
wood  representing  Holger  Danske,  which 
was  intended  for  the  figure-head  of  a  ship  ; 
for  the  old  grandfather  was  a  carver,  and 
made  figures  to  be  placed  at  the  prows  of 
vessels,  according  to  their  names  :  and  here 
he  had  cut  out  Holger  Danske,  with  his 
long  beard  and  his  slender  figure,  standing 
so  proudly  with  his  broad  battle-sword  in 
one  hand,  and  the  other  resting  on  the  arms 
of  Denmark. 

And  the  old  grandfather  told  so  many 

ui 


InlgE  Smuto. 

things  about  remarkable  Danish  men  and 
women,  that  at  last  his  little  grandchild 
thought  he  knew  quite  as  much  as  Holger 
Danske  could  know,  who,  after  all,  only- 
dreamed  about  the  matter  ;  and  when  the 
little  fellow  was  in  bed,  he  thought  so  much 
about  it,  that  he  quite  pressed  his  chin  upon 
the  counterpane,  and  it  seemed  to  him  as  if 
he  had  a  long  beard,  and  that  the  two  were 
grown  together. 

The  old  grandfather  remained  sitting  at 
his  work,  and  was  carving  the  last  bit  he 
had  to  do:  it  was  the  Danish  arms.  Now 
he  had  finished ;  and  he  looked  at  the  whole, 
and  thought  of  all  he  had  read  and  heard, 
and  of  what  he  had  told  the  little  boy  that 
evening;  and  he  nodded  and  wiped  his 
spectacles,  put  them  on  his  nose  again,  and 
said, — "  Yes,  Holger  Danske  will  hardly 
appear  in  my  time.  But  the  boy  there  in 
bed  may  get  a  sight  of  him,  and  be  present 
when  the  great  day  comes."  And  then  the 
old  grandfather  nodded ;  and  the  more  he 
looked  at  his  Holger  Danske,  the  more 
clearly  he  saw  that  the  figure  he  had  made 

142 


was  a  good  one ;  it  almost  seemed  to  him  as 
if  it  had  a  color,  and  as  though  the  armor 
grew  bright  like  real  steel  and  iron.  The 
hearts  of  the  Danish  arms  grew  redder  and 
redder,  and  the  lions  leaped  up  with  crowns 
-of  gold  upon  their  heads. 

li  That's  the  very  finest  coat-of-arms  in 
the  world,"  said  the  old  man.  "  The  lions 
denote  strength,  and  the  hearts  love  and 
clemency."  And  he  looked  at  the  upper- 
most lion,  and  thought  of  King  Canute,  who 
bound  mighty  England  to  the  throne  of 
Denmark;  and  he  gazed  at  the  second  lion, 
and  thought  of  Waldemar  who  collected  the 
scattered  states  of  Denmark  and  conquered 
the  countries  of  the  Vandals;  he  looked  at 
the  third  lion,  and  thought  of  Margaret, 
who  united  Denmark,  and  Sweden,  and 
Norway;  but  when  he  looked  at  the  red 
hearts,  they  seemed  more  ruddy  than  before, 
— they  grew  into  flames  that  moved,  and  he 
followed  each  one  in  thought. 

The  first  flame  led  him  to  a  narrow  dark 
prison :  there  sat  a  captive — a  noble  woman, 
Eleonora    Ulfeld,    Christian    the    Fourth's 

143 


Inlgrr  task 



daughter ;  and  the  flame  settled  like  a  rose 
upon  her  bosom,  and  there  it  bloomed  with 
her  heart — with  the  heart  of  her,  the  best 
and  noblest  of  all  Danish  women. 

"  Yes,  that  is  one  heart  in  the  army  of 
Denmark!"  said  the  old  grandfather. 

And  his  thoughts  followed  the  other 
flame,  that  led  him  upon  the  sea  where  the 
camions  thundered,  and  the  ships  lay  en- 
wrapped in  smoke;  and  the  flame  fixed 
itself,  like  the  ribbon  of  an  order  of  knight- 
hood, on  the  breast  of  Hvitfeldt,  as,  for  the 
preservation  of  the  fleet,  he  blew  up  himself 
and  his  ship. 

And  the  third  flame  led  him  to  Green- 
land's needy  huts,  where  stood  the  pastor 
Hans  Egede  with  love  in  his  words  and 
deeds.  The  flame  was  a  star  on  his  breast, 
a  heart  for  the  arms  of  Denmark :  and  the 
thoughts  of  the  old  grandfather  preceded 
the  buoyant  flame,  for  he  well  knew  where 
it  would  go  to.  In  the  humble  room  of  the 
peasant  woman  stood  Frederick  the  Sixth, 
and  wrote  his  name  with  chalk  on  the 
rafters.     The  flame  trembled  on  his  breast, 

144 


InlgE  Batiste* 

trembled  in  his  heart ;  in  the  room  of  the 
peasant  his  heart  became  a  heart  for  Den- 
mark's arms.  And  the  old  grandfather 
dried  his  eyes ;  for  he  had  lived  for  King 
Frederick,  with  his  venerable  silver  hair 
and  honest  blue  eyes;  he  had  known  him 
too— and  he  folded  his  hands,  and  gazed 
silently  before  him.  Then  the  old  man's 
daughter-in-law  came  in,  and  said  it  was 
late ;  that  it  was  time  to  leave  off  work,  and 
that  supper  was  ready. 

"  But  what  you  have  made  is  really 
quite  beautiful,  grandfather,"  said  she. 
Holger  Danske  and  our  old  arms  complete ! 
It  seems  to  me  that  I  have  seen  that  face 
before !" 

"  No,  that  cannot  well  be,"  said  the  old 
grandfather.  a  But  I  have  seen  it,  and 
have  tried  to  carve  it  in  wood  from  memory. 
It  was  when  the  English  were  lying  in  the 
roadstead,  on  the  second  of  April,  when  we 
showed  that  we  were  true  old  Danes.  On 
the  'Denmark,'  when  I  was  in  the  squadron 
under  Steen  Billes,  a  man  stood  beside  me : 
it  was  as  if  the  balls  were  afraid  of  him  J 

10  145 


IfiigBt  task*. 

Merrily  did  he  sing  the  old  songs,  and  fired 
and  fought  as  though  he  were  more  than 
human !  I  still  remember  his  countenance  ; 
but  whence  he  came,  or  whither  he  went,  I 
know  not.  No  one  knows !  I  have  often 
thought  that  it  was  old  Holger  Danske  him- 
self, who  had  swam  down  from  Kronburg, 
and  had  aided  in  the  hour  of  danger.  That 
was  my  fancy,  and  there  stands  his  like- 
ness." 

And.  the  figure  threw  its  large  shadow 
quite  high  upon  the  wall,  even  on  the  ceiling; 
and  it  looked  as  if  it  were  really  Holger 
Danske  himself  that  was  standing  there, 
for  the  shadow  moved ;  but  that  might  be 
because  the  flame  of  the  lamp  did  not  burn 
steadily.  And  the  daughter-in-law  kissed 
the  old  grandfather,  and  drew  him  towards 
the  great  arm-chair  before  the  table;  and 
she  and  her  husband,  who  was,  of  course, 
the  son  of  the  old  man,  and  the  father  of 
the  little  boy  lying  in  bed,  ate  their  evening 
meal;  and  the  old  grandfather  told  about 
the  Danish  lion  and  the  Danish  hearts;  told 
them  about  strength  and  gentleness.     And 

146     . 


ii%r  Urttisk 

he  explained,  quite  distinctly,  that  there  is 
another  strength,  besides  that  which  lies  in 
the  sword;  and  he  pointed  to  the  shelf 
where  old  books  were  lying,  where  the  col- 
lected comedies  of  Holberg  were;  books 
which  had  been  read  and  re-read,  so  amus- 
ing were  they:  you  fancied  that  -all  the 
persons  in  them  were  known  to  you  since 
many  a-day. 

"  Look  you !  he  could  use  his  chisel  too," 
said  the  grandfather.  "  What  was  false 
and  cross-grained  in  people,  he  chiselled 
away  as  well  as  he  could !"  And  the  old 
man  gave  a  nod  of  his  head  in  the  direction 
of  the  looking-glass,  in  which  was  struck 
the  calendar,  with  "  the  Round  Tower"  on 
the  cover;  and  he  said,  u  Tycho  Brahe,  too, 
was  one  of  those  who  used  the  sword — not 
to  hew  into  flesh  and  blood,  but  to  clear  a 
more  distinct  path  between  all  the  stars  of 
heaven!  And  then  he,  whose  father  was 
of  my  craft,  the  old  sculptor's  son;  he  with 
the  white  hair  and  strong  shoulders,  whom 
we  ourselves  have  read  about ;  he,  in  short, 
who  is   talked  of  in   all  the   countries   of 

147 


InlgBr  Brate. 

the  worlds — ah,  he  could  work  in  stone ; 
I  can  only  carve  in  wood !  Yes,  yes,  Holger 
Danske  can  come  in  many  ways,  in  order 
that  one  may  hear  of  Denmark's  power  in 
all  parts  of  the  world!" 

But  the  little  boy  in  bed  saw  distinctly  the 
old  castle  of  Kronburg  and  the  Sound,  and 
the  real  Holger  Danske,  who  sat  deep  under 
the  earth,  with  his  beard  grown  fast  to  the 
marble  table,  dreaming  of  all  that  is  going 
on  above.  Holger  Danske  dreamed,  too,  of 
the  little  humble  room  where  the  carver  sat ; 
he  heard  all  that  was  spoken,  nodded  in  his 
dream,  and  said : 

"  Yes,  remember  me,  ye  Danish  people! 
Give  thought  unto  me.  I  will  come  in  the 
hour  of  need!" 

"And  the  bright  day  shone  in  brilliancy 
outside  the  castle  of  Kronburg,  and  the 
wind  bore  the  sounds  of  the  hunter's  horn 
across  from  the  neighboring  land;  the 
ships  sailed  by,  and  saluted,  "Boom, 
Boom!" 

*  Thorwaldsen. 
148 


InlgBt  taste. 

And  from  Kronburg  came  the  answer, 
'Boom,  Boom!" 

But  Holger  Danske  did  not  awake,  let 
them  fire  as  loud  as  they  may;  for  you  know, 
it  was  only  "Good  day,"  and  "Very  much 
obliged,"  that  they  said.  There  must  be  a 
different  sort  of  firing  before  he  will  awake; 
but  awake  he  is  sure  to  do,  for  strength  and 
power  dwell  in  Holger  Danske. 


Bb 


149  . 


€l)t 

% rapernr  fnkxk  %>mhxwBfc 


A  CHAPTER  BY  THE  TRANSLATOR. 


;\SW  ERMANY  has  many 
traditions.  One  of  the 
most  popular  is  about  the 
Emperor  Frederick  I.  ;  and 
this  tradition  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  something  more 
than  a  mere  empty  tale   or 


goblin    story.. 


for    it   is   as- 
sociated with  the  destiny  and 
the  hopes  of  a  whole  people. 

•Those  children  for  whom  I  have  translated  these, 
150 


fxthxit  35arlwmssa. 


Well,  this  mighty  Emperor,  this  "  great- 
est hero  of  the  Christian  world,"  who, 
while  he  reigned,  strove  incessantly  to 
make  the  German  empire  what  it  once  had 
been,  is  said  to  be  still  alive. 

It  is  said  that  he  sits  spell-bonnd  in  the 
Kyfhauser  mountain;  and  that  the  spell 
will  not  be  broken  until  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, unless  his  country  should  be  in  the 
dreadest   need. 

He  has  taken  with  him  the  jewels  of  the 
empire,  and  they  stand  beside  him  on  a 
marble  table.  His  fiery  beard,  which  still 
grows  during  his  enchanted  sleep,  must 
reach  three  times  round  the  table  before  he 
will    awake.     As    yet,    however,    it    goes 

Tales — may  not,  perhaps,  know  that  there  is  more 
than  one  tradition  very  similar  to  that  of  Holger 
Danske,  to  be  found  in  Germany,  relating,  of  course, 
to  those  monarchs  who,  while  living,  called  forth  the 
admiration  of  their  country.  The  most  popular  one 
is  about  Frederic  Barbarossa,  who — but  as  what  I  am 
going  to  tell  you  would  make  rather  a  long  note,  I  have 
concluded  to  give  the  German  emperor  a  chapter  to 
himself.— C.  B. 

151 


€ty  £wpm 


round  but  twice.  His  sword  is  in  his  hand 
in  readiness,  and  he  waits  till  his  day  shall 
come. 

Some  shepherds,  'tis  said,  have  seen 
him,  and  he  has  asked,  "Do  the  ravens 
still  fly  round  the  mountain?"  and  when 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  he  has  again 
rested  his  head  upon  his  hand,  and  said, 
"Then  I  must  sleep  for  another  hundred 
years!'7 

And  why,  you  will  ask,  should  the  people 
think  that  he  is  still  alive?  Because  the 
nation  could  not  bring  themselves  to  believe, 
that  the  great  monarch  who  for  near  forty 
years  had  ruled  as  German  Emperor ;  who 
had  gone  forth  with  his  tens — ay,  with  his 
hundreds — of  thousands  of  soldiers  to  battle 
— that  he,  the  noble,  the  magnanimous,  the 
indomitable  Emperor,  who  had  made  the 
restoration  of  the  German  empire,  as  it  had 
once  been,  the  aim  of  his  whole  life,  could 
possibly  have  left  them  forever.  When, 
I  say,  his  astounded  people  were  told  that 
he  was  no  more — that  they  would  nevei 
again    behold    his    glorious    countenance] 

152 


fntofii  Ikrhrraa. 


when  they  saw  the  Crusaders  coming  back 
from  the  struggle  with  the  Infidel,  and 
missed  the  chief  who  had  led  them  forth  in 
power;  when  asking  for  him,  they  were 
told  he  lay  entombed  at  Antioch, — then  all 
were  struck  dumb  wi'th  amazement,  and 
men  knew  not  what  to  think. 

The  Holy  Land  was  a  far  distant  coun- 
try, around  which  was  mystery.  The 
eager  questioners  about  the  circumstances 
of  their  hero's  death  heard  various  accounts; 
and  when  men  began  to  wake  from  their 
bewilderment,  they  whispered  to  each  other 
doubts  of  what  they  had  been  told — doubts 
of  his  being  really  dead  !  They  forgot  his 
mortal  nature,  and  remembered  him  only 
as  what  to  their  minds  he  had  ever  been, — 
as  a  guiding  spirit,  sent  on  earth  by  Hea- 
ven for  the  accomplishment  of  some  great 
destiny. 

Could  he,  then,  have  ceased  to  be  ?  Could 
he  have  left  them  thus  suddenly,  far  from 
his  own  native  land  ?  The  more  they  pon- 
dered, the  stronger  grew  the  pleasing  hope 
that  he  was  still  with  his  people,  and  that 

153 


€\t  <ftnprnr 

when  the  day  should  arrive  for  the  ful- 
filment of  his  darling  scjieme,  he  would 
certainly  come  forth  again,  and  lead  his 
chosen  to  victory.  And  in  this  thought 
they  found  consolation.  From  a  hope  it 
became  a  certainty,  and  henceforth  they 
clung  to  this  creation  of  their  fancy  with 
all  the  devotedness  of  veneration  and  of 
love. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  tradition  in  ques- 
tion is  not  a  tale  invented  for  mere  amuse- 
ment's sake,  hut  rather  the  visible  form 
which  the  cherished  feeling  of  a  whole 
people  has  taken  in  expressing  itself — the 
tangible  shape  assumed  by  the  hopes  and 
longings  of  the  nation  in  giving  themselves 
vent. 

It  is  true  such  a  belief  could  hardly  spring 
up  now;  but  this,  you  must  remember,  was 
in  days  six  hundred  years  ago.  Many 
circumstances  have  happened  since  to  make 
men's  minds  different  to  what  they  then 
were.  There  is  no  probability  of  such  a 
tradition  becoming  prevalent  about  Napo- 
leon. 

154 


tfnhxlx  aSttthrtrnssa. 


Though  many  a  veteran  may  have  stood 
lost  in  thought  beside  his  tomb,  and  have 
wished  the  while  it  were  possible  for  his 
General  to  hear  the  tramp  of  the  thousands 
as  they  marched  near  his  resting-place,  or 
that  the  drum's  long  rolling  could  reach 
him  in  his  coffin;  though,  too,  the  fanciful 
wish  may  have  been  imparted  to  some 
trusty  comrade,  old  soldier  like  himself,  yet 
it  would  never  be  spoken  of  as  a  thing  that 
might  be. 

Many  a  one  even  has  most  assuredly 
seen,  in  his  mind's  eye,  the  well-known 
figure  of  his  Emperor  standing,  as  it  were, 
before  him,  and  with  all  the  reality  of  life, 
while  dwelling  on  some  vividly-remem- 
bered event  of  past  days.  Nevertheless, 
we  are  sure  to  hear  no  tradition  of  the 
Emperor  going  his  rounds  beneath  the 
dome  of  the  Invalides,  while  still  watching 
over  the  destinies  of  France.  Men's  minds 
are  changed. 

You  must  know,  too,  that  the  desire  of 
Barbarossa  to  re-establish  the  holy  Roman 
Empire  under  one  head,  makes  his  memory 


155 


€\)t  &wpm 

especially  dear  to  Germany;  for  there  even 
now  men  talk  of  its  fulfilment:  not.  indeed, 
as  an  event  likely  to  be  accomplished,  but 
as  one  most  ardently  to  be  desired.  Still 
many  a  heart  beats  quicker  at  the  mention 
of  such  a  state  of  things;  there  are  many 
still,  who,  like  Barbarossa,  view  this  as  the 
grandest  aim  of  all  human  striving. 

Can  we  wonder,  then,  that  the  Germans 
love  to  dwell  on  this  pleasing  vision,  con- 
nected as  it  is  with  so  much  that  is  dear  to 
their  countrymen?  It  is  like  a  shadow 
falling  on  the  stream  of  time,  but  the  event 
that  casts  the  shade  is  behind  them,  out  of 
sight,  and  beyond  their  reach. 

The  most  natural  spot  for  the  abode  of 
such  a  sleeper  would  be  some  mountain 
solitude.  Childhood  is  always  poetical ; 
and  I  do  not  doubt  that  those  of  my  young 
readers  who  have  stood  on  the  dreary 
heights  of  Westmoreland,  or  amid  the  still 
grander  mountain  scenery  of  the  Continent, 
will  have  felt  its  influence,  .and  without 
being  cowards,  have  experienced  a  sort  of 
dread  at  the  awful  stillness  around  them. 

156 


ftdum  SkriiraM. 


There  is  nothing  there  to  disturb  the  slum- 
berer ;  not  a  sound  is  heard  of  man  or  beast ; 
for  not  a  creature  comes  up  into  that  realm 
of  dreariness:  the  very  rocks  seem  spell- 
bound; and  lying  in  an  enchanted  sleep. 


ce 


157 


€\t  fitting  <P{jil.iL 


TRANSLATED   BT   MARY  HOWITT. 


"jl/T OTHER,  I'm  tired,  and  I  would  fain  be  sleeping ; 

Let  me  repose  upon  thy  bosom  seek ; 
But  promise  me  that  thou  wilt  leave  off  weeping, 

Because  thy  tears  fall  hot  upon  my  cheek. 
Here  it  is  cold  :  the  tempest  raveth  madly ; 

But  in  my  dreams  all  is  so  wondrous  bright . 
I  see  the  angel-children  smiling  gladly, 

When  from  my  weary  eyes  I  shut  out  light. 

Mother,  one  stands  beside  me  now  !  and,  listen  ! 

Dost  thou  not  hear  the  music's  sweet  accord  ? 
See  how  his  white  wings  beautifully  glisten  ! 

Surely  those  wings  were  given  him  by  our  Lord  ! 
158 


'%  Bpg  (CjiiUr. 


Green,  gold  and  red  are  floating  all  around  me  : 
They  are  the  flowers  the  angel  scattereth. 

Shall  I  have  also  wings  whilst  life  has  hound  me  ] 
Or,  mother,  are  they  given  alone  in  death  ? 

Why  dost  thou  clasp  me  as  if  I  were  going  1 

Why  dost  thou  press  thy  cheek  thus  unto  mine  1 
Thy  cheek  is  hot,  and  yet  thy  tears  are  flowing  : 

I  will,  dear  mother,  will  be  always  thine  ! 
Do  not  sigh  thus — it  marreth  my  reposing  ; 

And,  if  thou  weep,  then  I  must  weep  with  thee? 
Oh,  I  am  tired — my  wTeary  eyes  are  closing  : 

— Look,  mother,  look  !  the  angel  kisseth  me ! 


159 


